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Aug 08, 2023

Diamondbacks' Lourdes Gurriel Jr. makes big impression with post

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo wore a T-shirt prior to Tuesday's game bearing an image of outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., complete with his signature shock of purple hair. The shirt, now

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo wore a T-shirt prior to Tuesday's game bearing an image of outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., complete with his signature shock of purple hair. The shirt, now available in the Chase Field team shop, is part of Lovullo's rotation of pregame wear since it was on his desk inside the visiting manager's office in Pittsburgh when the Diamondbacks played there earlier in May.

"I was one of the first to get it," Lovullo said. "I love these things. So I put it on and I wore it pretty much every day of the road trip."

If Gurriel keeps up his hitting (.312 in 49 games as of Wednesday), the shirt might sell well. And he's already a hit in the clubhouse and dugout with his teammates for the fun he has playing baseball and an article of clothing to celebrate team success that debuted Monday night.

It's a red leather vest, the likes of which were worn by '80s pop stars. Adorned with a Diamondbacks and Serpientes logo, the Spanish words "la gente del barrio (the people from the neighborhood)" and in English, "#RattleOn," players and Lovullo credited Gurriel with designing and making the vest wearable.

Gurriel confirmed after Tuesday night’s game that the vest was indeed his idea.

“It's something that changes the routine and at the same time, it's fun," Gurriel said in Spanish. "It was important to have it be a little different, to have it fun like us."

Pitcher Drey Jameson wore the vest after the Diamondbacks won Monday night's game over the Rockies, 7-5. Infielder Geraldo Perdomo put the vest on teammate Evan Longoria after Tuesday's 5-1 Diamondbacks win. So it is apparently a victory vest.

Lovullo suspected Gurriel was the mastermind of the vest at the end of Monday's game.

"So I think everybody's in on this pretty good, a lot of fun," Lovullo said. "He (Gurriel) had the biggest smile on his face when everybody's coming out of the dugout into the clubhouse. And I greeted everybody going back in the clubhouse, and he was yukking it up. And I'm like, 'You had something to do with this?' And he's like, 'I don't know.'"

Gurriel's teammates enjoy it. Infielder Josh Rojas said he thinks the outfit is "really cool."

"It's a hard game. You've got to find the fun where you can get it," Rojas said.

Gurriel was in the field when Tuesday's game ended, so Perdomo, who had the night off, slid the vest onto Longoria just before his postgame TV interview.

Tuesday game recap:Zac Gallen gets back to his dominant best, leads Diamondbacks past Rockies

"I wanted to do something for all of us, where everyone on the team would have the opportunity to wear it, pitchers, position players," Gurriel said. "I thought about doing something, so I had the mentality to just go for it and run with the idea. All the guys loved it and so we went with it."

Lovullo said it's hard to stay so serious for the length of a baseball game. And it's clear that the Diamondbacks are having a lot of fun as they continue what has been a winning season.

"I think part of being a successful baseball player is being able to separate the seriousness of what happens in the moment and then getting into that, engage in it and engaging at a very high level and stepping back," he said, "and kind of separating and have a little bit of a balance and having a good laugh."