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<p>HOUSTON &#8212; Yuli Gurriel will have to sit out for making a racist gesture toward Yu Darvish &#8212; but not during the World Series.</p><p>Major League Baseball suspended the Houston Astros first baseman on Saturday for the first five games next season. The punishment came a day after Gurriel&#8217;s actions toward the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher during Game 3.</p><p>&#8220;I understand that people may have different views,&#8221; Commissioner Rob Manfred said. &#8220;But it was my best judgment that this timing was appropriate.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I wanted the burden of this discipline to fall primarily on the wrongdoer,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The Cuban-born Gurriel pulled on the corners of his eyes after homering off Darvish during Houston&#8217;s 5-3 win Friday night. He also used a derogatory Spanish term in reference to Darvish, who was born in Japan.</p><p>&#8220;I made an offensive gesture that was indefensible,&#8221; Gurriel said in a statement released by the Astros. &#8220;I sincerely apologize to everyone that I offended with my actions. I deeply regret it.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I would particularly like to apologize to Yu Darvish, a pitcher that I admire and respect. I would also like to apologize to the Dodgers organization, the Astros, Major League Baseball and to all fans across the game,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Gurriel said Friday that he wanted to meet with Darvish to express his regret. Manfred said there would be a private apology.</p><p>Gurriel will lose $322,581 of his $12 million salary next year, which the Astros will donate to charitable causes. He also will be required to undergo sensitivity training during the offseason.</p><p>Immediately after the game, Darvish said he was angry.</p><p>&#8220;Acting like that, you just disrespect all the people around the world,&#8221; he said in Japanese through a translator.</p><p>Darvish later tweeted &#8220;let&#8217;s stay positive and move forward instead of focusing on anger.&#8221;</p><p>The 33-year-old Gurriel played in Japan in 2014 and is completing his second season in the major leagues after leaving Cuba.</p><p>Darvish was born to a Japanese mother and an Iranian father. The four-time All-Star played professionally in Japan from 2005-11 before joining the Texas Rangers in 2012. He was sent to the Dodgers at this year&#8217;s July 31 trade deadline.</p><p>Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said the team was &#8220;surprised and disappointed&#8221; by Gurriel&#8217;s behavior and supported Manfred&#8217;s decision.</p><p>&#8220;Yuli has always demonstrated respectful behavior and is extremely remorseful for his actions,&#8221; Luhnow said. &#8220;Appropriately, Yuli has apologized for his gesture. He had no intention of offending anyone, but now recognizes the perceived offensiveness of his actions.&#8221;</p><p>MLB suspended two players this season for using slurs. Toronto&#8217;s Kevin Pillar and Oakland&#8217;s Matt Joyce each were banned two games this season after making anti-gay comments. In 2012, Toronto infielder Yunel Escobar was penalized three games for a gay slur.</p><p>&#8220;That precedent is not adequate to deal with the current situation,&#8221; Manfred said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve decided to go beyond that precedent as a statement of our disapproval of this behavior.&#8221;</p><p>Manfred said he was &#8220;impressed in my conversation with Yu Darvish by his desire to move forward, and I felt that moving the suspension to the beginning of the season would help in that regard.&#8221;</p><p>Said Manfred: &#8220;There is no place in our game for the behavior or any behavior like the behavior we witnessed last night.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;There is no excuse or explanation that makes that type of behavior acceptable,&#8221; he said.</p><p>By imposing a penalty Gurriel and the players&#8217; union agreed not to contest, Manfred avoided a possible grievance hearing in the next few days before arbitrator Mark Irvings that would have taken attention away from the World Series.</p><p>Gurriel will be put on the restricted list next season, meaning the Astros can replace him and play with a 25-man roster.</p><p>Manfred would not compare Gurriel&#8217;s actions with the Cleveland Indians&#8217; decision to keep using their Chief Wahoo logo, which has been criticized by Native Americans and others.</p><p>&#8220;I see a difference between behavior from one player directed specifically at a player and a logo,&#8221; he said. &#8220;While both are problematic, I don&#8217;t see them as the same issue. We continue to have conversations with the Indians about the logo, and it&#8217;s an issue I intend to deal with in the offseason.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred answers questions at a news conference before Game 4 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday in Houston. Manfred announced that Houston Astros&#8217; Yuli Gurriel will be suspended five games without pay starting in the 2018 season. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_Manfred-Yuli.jpg</photo0><caption0>Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred answers questions at a news conference before Game 4 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday in Houston. Manfred announced that Houston Astros&#8217; Yuli Gurriel will be suspended five games without pay starting in the 2018 season. </caption0><photoCredit0>David J. Phillip | AP photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Kristie Rieken</p><p>AP Sports Writer</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>ON THE WEB</strong></p><p>Game 4 of the World Series did not complete before press time. Visit timesleader.com for a full recap of the game.</p></factboxMeta></div>

Astros’ Yuli Gurriel banned 5 games in 2018 for racist gesture at Yu Darvish