World Series notes: With a tip and a nod, the Gurriel-Darvish exchange is over
Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel tips his helmet toward Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish before getting into the batter’s box during the first inning of Game 7.
Yuli Gurriel, before his first at-bat Wednesday in Houston’s 5-1 World Series Game 7 win over the Dodgers, acknowledged pitcher Yu Darvish with a tip of his cap. Darvish responded by stepping to the front of the mound and nodding.
In baseball language: case closed. At least for now.
Gurriel made a racist gesture and insensitive remark about Darvish, who is of Japanese and Iranian descent, after homering off him early in Game 3 at Houston.
The Astros first baseman, who is Cuban, was punished by Major League Baseball with a five-game suspension he will serve at the start of next season. He also got an earful of boos and jeers during games at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Darvish lasted only only 12/3 innings, taking the loss after giving up five runs, four earned, on three hits. He said the exchange with Gurriel did not distract him.
“I thought I really couldn’t hit him with a pitch in his first at-bat,” Darvish said. “So I really made a concerted effort to not hit him. Besides that, I was able to fully concentrate.”
Decisions to make
The Dodgers’ front office will barely have a chance to exhale.
Offseason work awaits.
Free agency starts Thursday, when players with six years in the major leagues and without a contract beyond this season automatically become free agents. The Dodgers’ World Series roster includes four such players: pitchers Yu Darvish, Brandon Morrow and Tony Watson and infielder Chase Utley.
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The Dodgers are expected to decline their option on the contract of outfielder Andre Ethier, making him a free agent. The Dodgers also have to determine whether to exercise their option on the contract of infielder Logan Forsythe.
Poo poo this
In the wake of Tuesday’s win in Game 6, Tommy Lasorda embraced Dodgers manager Dave Roberts outside the media interview room and offered these words of wisdom:
“You haven’t won … unless you win tomorrow.”
Asked for his reaction before Wednesday’s game, Roberts said: “I’ve heard it all year, and I think that it’s great. It’s Tommy’s words of encouragement.”
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Lasorda, 90, was still at it after the game. Hunkered low and wearing a blue sweater over white long sleeves while riding in a scooter outside the press box just after the last out, Lasorda heard a fan trying to lift his spirits.
“Tommy, it’ll be OK, buddy,” the man said.
Lasorda’s reply, an age-old adage: “Wait till next year!” Next year, it will be 30 years since Lasorda guided the Dodgers to their last World Series title.
Home heartache
The Dodgers had the best home record in the major leagues this season, but the Astros beat them twice in four World Series games at Dodger Stadium.
Home-field advantage for the World Series used to alternate between the National and American leagues. Then it was decided by the winner of the All-Star Game. This was the first year the team with the best regular-season record earned the reward.
The Dodgers’ 104 wins during the regular season was the most in baseball. Houston’s 101 was third, one game behind Cleveland.
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The Houston Astros celebrate winning the World Series.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel, second from left, third baseman Alex Bregman, left fielder Marwin Gonzalez and second baseman Jose Altuve celebrate after beating the Dodgers 5-1.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Houston Astros players run to celebrate with teammates after beating the Dodgers.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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The Houton Astros celebrate with the Commissioner’s Trophy.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Astro players spray champagne in the clubhouse.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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The Astros’ Josh Reddick gets sprayed with champagne after his team defeated the Dodgers.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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The Astros’ Josh Reddick gets sprayed with champagne during the postgame celebration.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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The Houston Astros celebrate winning the World Series.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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The Houston Astros celebrate beating the Dodgers, 5-1, in Game 7 to win their first World Series.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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The Dodgers watch the Astros celebrate their World Series title.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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The Houston Astros celebrate beating the Dodgers to win the World Series.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times )
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Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa holds up the flag of Puerto Rico after his team won the World Series.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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The Astros swarm pitcher Charlie Morton after he held the Dodgers to one run over the last four innings to preserve the win.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Yasiel Puig heads to the outfield in the ninth inning.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers watch their World Series dreams disappear with a 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros in the ninth inning.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Clayton Kershaw leaves the mound after the top of the third inning.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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The Houston Astros celebrate beating the Dodgers to win the World Series.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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World Series MVP Houston Astros center fielder George Springer, left is hugged by teammates after winning the World Series.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa holds the flag of Puerto Rico during the postgame celebration.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Houston Astros catcher Brian McCann jumps on pitcher Charlie Morton after Morton held the Dodgers to one run over the last four innings.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Augusto Romero, of Granada Hills, left, embraces his girlfriend Lizet Perez, of Sylmar, after Dodgers lost.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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Members of the Dodgers watch the Houston Astros celebrate winning the World Series.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Astros outfielders George Springer, right, and Cameron Maybin run in to celebrate with teammates after beating the Dodgers 5-1 in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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The Houston Astros celebrate winning the World Series.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Yasiel Puig shows his frustration after fouling off a pitch in the fifth inning.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Cody Bellinger looks down while standing on first base after a force-out in the fifth inning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Tyler Howard, center, of Los Angeles, along with other fans watch Game 7 at the Short Stop in Los Angeles.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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Manager Dave Roberts talks with Clayton Kershaw after the sixth inning.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Corey Seager splits his bat while grounding out to end the sixth inning.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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The Dodgers’ Justin Turner gets hit by a pitch in the third inning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Kenley Jansen and Austin Barnes talk during a break in the seventh inning.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers fans react at the Down N Out bar in downtown during Game 7.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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A frustrated Dodgers fan watches the game in the fifth inning.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A lone Dodger fan watches the Houston Astros celebrate their 5-1 victory.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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The Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig slams his bat into the ground after popping up with two runners on base in the third inning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Clayton Kershaw walks off the field after striking out Yuli Gurriel to end the top of the third inning.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Angeles Maurino, center, reacts with Dodgers fans at the Down N Out bar in downtown Los Angeles during Game 7.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Mescal Miranda, left, of Los Angeles, along with other fans watch Game 7 at the Short Stop in Los Angeles.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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Bartender Nate Joyner wears face paint as he watches the game with Dodgers fans at the Down N Out bar in downtown Los Angeles.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig, right, and center fielder Joc Pederson react after pitcher Yu Darvish was taken out of the game.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers starting pitcher Yu Darvish looks down after giving up a double to the Astros’ Marwin Gonzalez in the second inning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Orlando Villa, of Los Angeles, reacts as the Houston Astros go up 5-0 in the second inning.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, center, and the infield wait for a relief pitcher after starter Yu Darvish was taken out of the game.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers starting pitcher Yu Darvish stares into the outfield as George Springer reaches home plate after hitting a 2-run homer to give the Astros a 5-0 lead in the second inning.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Astros right fielder George Springer, center, celebrates with teammates after hitting a two-run homer against the Dodgers in the second inning.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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The Astros’ George Springer, second from left, celebrates his two-run home run with Carlos Correa in the second inning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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The Astros’ George Springer runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run against Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish in the second inning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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The Astros’ George Springer reaches home in front of Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes after hitting a two-run home run in the second inning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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The Dodgers’ Corey Seager strikes out in the first inning.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Enrique Hernandez encourages Yu Darvish in the dugout before the first pitch in Game 7 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
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Former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda arrives to watch Game 7.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers fans Greg Uy watches the Dodgers in the first inning with bases loaded at the Down N Out bar in downtown Los Angeles.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Dodgers fans show concern as the Astros score twice in the first inning of Game 7.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers fans boo the Astros’ Yuli Gurriel in the first inning of Game 7.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Dodgers fan Tim Kell, right, of Rancho Cucamonga, cheers for his second World Series championship game at Dodger Stadium. “This is the ultimate,” Kell said, who attended the 1988 World Series.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Sarah Keh dances to mariachi music in the right field pavilion before game 7 of the World Series.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A pair of sportscasters stand beside the Commissioner’s Trophy before the start of Game 7.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Young Dodgers stars Corey Seager, left, and Joc Pederson take batting practice before the start of Game 7.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans try to get a closer look at players from the corner of left field before the start of Game 7.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Astros fans watch their team warm up before the start of Game 7.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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A Dodgers fan is literally blue in the face before the start of Game 7.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Before Game 7, Hinch was asked if he thought it made a difference in this Series. “It feels like it,” he said. “I sort of like it when the 48,000 people are yelling for us.”
Before Wednesday, the Dodgers had won 10 of their last 12 World Series games at Dodger Stadium and were 11-2 this season at home against AL teams.
A pioneer
Wednesday’s game was historic in that it was the first World Series Game 7 to be played at Dodger Stadium. Alanna Rizzo, a reporter with the Dodgers’ SportsNet LA broadcast team, decided it was something a woman who made her own kind of baseball history needed to see live.
Hours before the game, Rizzo gave up her season at the outside media tables to Claire Smith, a recent inductee into the writers’ wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Smith, a pioneering female sportswriter, had been working from crowded rooms such as the makeshift media center in the Dodger Stadium dining hall and watching the games on a television monitor.
Smith, a news editor for ESPN, began to tear up as Rizzo escorted her to her new spot.
“Please!” Rizzo told journalists who witnessed her act of kindness. “She’s in the Hall of Fame. She should be in the press box.”
In the 1980s, Smith became baseball’s first female beat writer, covering the New York Yankees for the Hartford Courant. It wasn’t easy. After the first game of the 1984 National League Championship Series, Smith was physically removed from the San Diego Padres’ clubhouse even though league rules said all accredited journalists should have equal access to the locker room.
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The next day, then-Commissioner Peter Ueberroth strengthened the rule, insisting all credentialed media have equal clubhouse access regardless of gender.
Smith later became a columnist for the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Short hops
The Dodgers made a record 32 pitching changes in the Series.... Brandon Morrow struck out Alex Bregman, the only batter he faced in Game 7, on three pitches. Morrow became only the second pitcher to appear in all seven World Series games, joining Darold Knowles, who did it for the champion Oakland Athletics in 1973. Morrow made 14 postseason appearances this year, tying a record established by Paul Assenmaucher of the 1997 Cleveland Indians.… Making his Dodgers-record 51st appearance in a postseason game, Ethier had a run-scoring pinch-hit single in the sixth inning.… Cody Bellinger struck out a record 17 times in 28 World Series at-bats, and a record 29 times during the playoffs in 64 at-bats. The previous playoff strikeout record was held by New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who fanned 27 times in 48 at-bats this year. Bellinger, in the NL, and Judge, in the AL, each set league rookie regular-season home-run records and are expected to be rookies of the year.
Kevin Baxter writes about soccer and hockey for the Los Angeles Times. He has covered seven World Cups, five Olympic Games, six World Series and a Super Bowl and has contributed to three Pulitzer Prize-winning series at The Times and Miami Herald. An essay he wrote in fifth grade was voted best in the class. He has a cool dog.
Mike Hiserman is former Sports editor of the Los Angeles Times. He wrote for the Long Beach Press Telegram and Orange County Register before joining The Times in 1982 and won an Associated Press Sports Editors award for investigative reporting on betting scams. Hiserman has been Sports editor of The Times’ San Fernando Valley and Orange County editions. He retired in November 2020.
