Following the official announcement of his return to the Diamondbacks, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. began his ZOOM media session accompanied by his two young sons bouncing on his knee. Throughout the session the familiar themes of family, togetherness, brotherhood, and the comfort level for him and his family, all pervaded the atmosphere.
"I always have my priorities in line. First and foremost is my family comfortable here in the city and the organization? Secondly, am I comfortable with the team, the club, the organization, the players. With all that in mind, that was first and foremost to be able to secure that. That was the driving force behind me returning."
Gurriel said right from the outset of his arrival in Arizona last year he felt welcomed and that he had found the right fit. "Honestly since the beginning, since my arrival with my family we felt very very welcome, just the way everyone in the organization welcomed us, and just very grateful for all the support that was given to us. Everything from my citizenship process to being able to gel and be together with the staff, the coaches, the players, all of that kind of combined and just made it the right fit."
Much of that great fit took place in the clubhouse and with his teammates. Whether it was seeing him joke and laugh with his teammates in the clubhouse, thus keeping the players loose, or passing by the batting cages and seeing him engaged in intense discussions teaching his younger teammates, these images were more than just commonplace. They were a staple. The love and passion he showed towards his teammates was more than reciprocated and played a big part in his decision to return. "It had a lot to do with it" he said. Those relationships, those bonds that we formed, had a big impact on me coming back."
Joking with players such as Gabriel Moreno, Geraldo Perdomo, and Luis Frias, Gurriel told them "You're not getting rid of me that easily now". Despite all the fun and laughter they have together, Gurriel takes his role as a mentor and leader quite seriously. "The thing that really impressed me about them is that they're young players that listen, and they want to learn, and so it motivates me to want to continue to help them, and they want to be helped."
Mike Hazen spoke about Gurriel's work ethic and example to the younger players, and Gurriel takes a lot of pride in that role. "One doesn't just lead by words or what they say, you lead by what you show, what you've demonstrated. The younger players saw some of that in me. They mentioned to me that it motivated them to work harder by watching me."
There was also motivation stemming from the team-wide feeling of unfinished business. The D-backs made it all the way to World Series before bowing out to the Texas Rangers in five games. "We were at the doorstep of making history," Gurriel said. "We came up a little bit short to get the ring. It's definitely a huge motivation for me to want to come back and get to that ultimate goal."
It wasn't just his teammates that made him want to return however. Mike Hazen explained this morning how they reached out to Gurriel's team early in October to restructure part of his contract so that the D-backs would have the option to negotiate with him in free agency and have the opportunity to bring him back. Gurriel said "It was a huge motivating factor that the organization wanted me to come back."
In fact it seemed like he never seriously considered going anywhere else. "From the moment that free agency hits, everyone can weigh in with their interest. But the fact that Arizona was so heavily interested in me, that was the motivating factor."
Of course it would not have been a Gurriel interview if somebody didn't ask him about his hair. Recently Gabriel Moreno posted pictures of himself having dyed his hair, green instead of purple. Asked if he would dye his hair green as well, Gurriel could barely contain his laughter as he spoke about reaching back out to Moreno. "I think I was one of the first ones that he had sent a photo to of what he had just done. I kinda teased him saying hey, why are you copying me?" Most importantly Gurriel informed us since Moreno went green, he would have to stay purple."
More must-reads: