Background
The son of former Cuban player Lourdes Gourriel, Yulieski was regarded as the best player in Cuba in 2006.
The son of former Cuban player Lourdes Gourriel, Yulieski was regarded as the best player in Cuba in 2006.
He previously played for Industriales in the Cuban league. At the World Baseball Classic in 2006, Major League Baseball scouts projected that Gourriel would be a first-round draft pick if he were eligible for the draft. During the 2005 World Cup, he led all batters with eight home runs.
He played second base for Cuba in the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic, making the final out for Cuba in their championship game loss to Japan.
He batted.273 in the tournament, with a.342 on-base percentage and a.515 slugging percentage. Coincidentally, later in the finals of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Tournament, he again made the final out by grounding out into double play against South of Korea.
He played for Cuba again in the 2009 World Baseball Classic this time in third base and batted for.333 in the tournament with 2 home runs and 6 Reserve Bank of India. On May 11, 2014 Gourriel signed a one-year contract with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. Gourriel had a solid season during the 2004-2005 Cuban National Series, leading the league in hits and runs.
However, he truly dominated in 2005-2006, leading the series in RBIs, runs and triples.
His 27 home runs, which also led the league, were one short of the record of 28. Gourriel"s batting average was.327 and his slugging percentage was.676. On July 28, 2006, Entertainment and Sports Programming Network.com reported that Gourriel and another Cuban national player, Eduardo Paret, had defected from Cuba and into Colombia.
Gourriel refuted this claim on August 1, 2006, stating that he returned to his home in Cuba immediately after the conclusion of the tournament the Cuban national team had been playing in.
A member of Cuba"s national team, Gourriel is primarily a third baseman, though he has also played other positions, such as shortstop and second base.