Yulieski Gourriel, Cuban baseball player
Yulieski Gourriel Castillo (born June 9, 1984), commonly known as Yuli Gurriel and nicknamed "La Piña", is a Cuban professional baseball first baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for Sancti Spiritus in the Cuban National Series (CNS) and the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Gurriel is a former member of Cuba's national team, and an Olympic Games gold medalist in 2004. Always a versatile infielder, he has also played shortstop, second base, and third base in the major leagues.
The son of former Cuban player Lourdes Gurriel, Yulieski was regarded as the best player in Cuba in 2006. At the World Baseball Classic in 2006, MLB scouts projected that Gurriel would be a first-round draft pick were he eligible for the draft. He defected from Cuba in 2016, and made his major league debut that year.In his first full MLB season, Gurriel helped lead the Astros to the 2017 World Series championship, making him the fifth player to have won both an Olympic Games gold medal and a World Series title. He also helped lead the club to American League (AL) pennants in 2019 and 2021.
In 2021, Gurriel won the AL batting title, becoming the second Cuban-born player to do so. He was also the AL Gold Glove Award winner for first baseman in 2021, making him the oldest player to win a Gold Glove at that position.