GIO URSHELA: A GUY WHO BELIEVES IN HARD WORK

Source: The New York Post

Not to belabor any of this discussion on the Astros, cheating and owning their actions, but Gio Urshela, one of the most humble and quiet players of the Yankees' 2019 is calling foul, foul.  As you know, he appeared on The Michael Kay Show on Friday and was very candid about the cheating, all the way down to the pitch that changed the outcome of the 2019 AL Championship series.

According to the NY Post, "Despite the fact Major League Baseball said last month it found no evidence the Astros used wearable electronic devices in 2019, there has been speculation that Jose Altuve — who hit the game-winning homer in Game 6 off Aroldis Chapman — knew a slider was coming. Gio Urshela is among those who hasn’t ruled out the possibility."  

Source: USA Today

Urshela, who had a stand out season in 2019, admits he was angry when he heard about the cheating.  “A little bit,” the third baseman said. “But we try to do [our] best. … But we’re trying to do [our] best and play baseball clean.”

I mean I can't blame him.  Urshela has battled his way up the ranks into the major leagues. In 2019 he finished with 21 home runs and 74 runs knocked in, while hitting .314 over 132 games a year ago. The 28-year-old debuted with the Cleveland Indians, where he played sparingly at best.  He later played briefly for the Toronto Blue Jays before making his way to the Yankees in 2019.  He was expected to be a utility player off the bench, but when Miguel Andujar went on the IL and later headed for surgery, Urshela was given a chance to play every day and he performed well above expectations.

Source: YES

As we head into the spring training 2020, I hope we can all get back to playing baseball, cleanly, as Urshela said.  Players are always going to try and gain an advantage on their opponents.  But, it needs to happen by preparing through research, video reviews, batting practice and just paying attention within the game.  Not by gaming the system.  Let's shoot for clean baseball, everyone.

--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof