Ready for blastoff, Correa stays grounded
Astros star says hype won’t change him
Carlos Correa picks out a different fedora to wear on each Houston Astros trip during the season, a habit he developed last year as a way to set his own style.
Starting with next week’s trip to New York and Yankee Stadium, the Astros will go on the road 14 times in 2016, and that’s about the number of hats Correa wears, literally and figuratively.
The reigning American League rookie of the year is not just the centerpiece of the Astros’ quest to win their first World Series, but he’s also one of the major leagues’ most marketable figures, a young, bilingual player with charisma and superstar talent.
That has translated into a flood of opportunities off the field. Cor- rea signed a five-year contract with apparel maker Adidas that was formally announced Thursday, and on opening day he will be showcased in Topps’ digital trading card app. He also has endorsement deals in place with a Texas supermarket chain and a Hous-
ton car dealership, a promotional agreement with a fish and boating foundation and a partnership with Houston Children’s Charity for an initiative to raise funds to buy beds for kids.
During the offseason, Correa hosted a golf tournament to benefit children with medical needs in his native Puerto Rico and traveled to Los Angeles to meet film producer Thomas Tull, who offered him a small role in a movie project about Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente. Correa also made a guest appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter during the World Series and judged the Miss Puerto Rico beauty pageant.
Through all these endeavors, Correa said, he remained grounded and committed to the work ethic that helped put him in such an enviable position.
“Things have changed a lot, but I haven’t. To me it’s essential I remain the same person I was before,” said 6-4 Correa, who built up to a sturdy 225 pounds through an offseason workout regimen. “I don’t mess around with my preparation. That takes priority.”
He has backed up those words with a monster spring at the plate, batting .400 with four homers and a 1.325 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
Still, balancing those commitments while playing at the highest level is difficult enough that Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow has brought up the topic with Correa’s representatives.
“It’s always been a concern, because there are so many people pulling for his time,” Luhnow said. “And as he becomes more and more popular nationally, he gets asked to do a lot of things, whether it’s for products or companies or charities or family obligations, helping friends out, etc. The list is never-ending. I’ve seen it.”
Luhnow is quick to add that Correa, 21, is focused on becoming the game’s best player and winning championships, so his level of concern is not too elevated. Besides, there are worse problems to have than your franchise shortstop being too popular.
It took a mere two-thirds of a season — 99 games, to be exact — for Correa to gain acknowledgment as one of the game’s premier players.
The first overall pick in the 2012 draft batted .279 with 22 homers, 68 RBI and a .857 OPS as a rookie, anchoring the middle of the infield and the lineup for an Astros club that reached the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
It wasn’t just Correa’s performance but also his presence that turned heads, as he handled the attention and adulation with a veteran’s aplomb.
“He’s very professional and mature for his age,” said utilityman Marwin Gonzalez, whom Correa unseated as the starting shortstop when he arrived June 8. “Sometimes you think he has spent several years in the big leagues because of his mind-set and his maturity.”
This year Correa arrives with huge ambitions, and neither he nor the Astros shy away from the expectations. Luhnow thinks that not only will Correa avoid a soph- omore slump, but he’ll also contend for MVP honors.
The “face of baseball” tag, formerly associated with New York Yankees icon Derek Jeter — one of Correa’s role models — is often mentioned in discussions about a player who has yet to play a full season in the majors.
Even Mike Trout — who probably fits that description best these days — did not see such a title bestowed upon him after his debut season of 2011. Correa is ready to embrace it. “That means a lot to me. I’ve been working toward that,” he said. “I want to represent the Latin community with dignity. I’m very mindful of coming from Puerto Rico, and I want to be involved in all those activities MLB does, the charity work involving kids and fans. I want to represent the game in a dignified manner.
“That’s why I play the game the way I do and why I act off the field the way I do, because I want to be a role model and for kids to identify with me.”
They certainly did last weekend during the Astros’ two-game trip to Mexico City, where he and All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve were the team’s most sought-after players.
Altuve, who is older and more experienced in the majors by four years, has served as Correa’s mentor and bantering partner. He would be among those to put Correa in his place if he got too big for his britches — the news media requests this spring were constant — although teammates say that hasn’t happened.
“It’s not about him, it’s about the team. He understands that,” outfielder George Springer said. “We don’t have to police it much. He has guys he looks up to, like Altuve. I have some fun with him, tell him he’s the best player ever, stuff like that.”
He’s a ways from that. Manager A.J. Hinch points out Correa is not a finished product. His footwork on defense, his baserunning and his pitch selection could stand to improve.
Given his size, Correa will need to maintain his agility and firststep quickness — he does drills in the offseason focused on explo- sive movement — to remain a viable big-league shortstop.
And he’ll have to deal with the constant cat-and-mouse game that’s such a big part of baseball, as opponents seek areas of weakness to attack.
“He’s going to be pitched differently this year,” Hinch said. “He’s going to have to adapt to different styles of pitching. He’s not going to sneak up on anybody, so there are no freebies for him.”
And Correa isn’t seeking any. Luhnow, who spent eight years as a baseball executive with the St. Louis Cardinals before becoming Houston’s GM in December 2011, sees parallels between Correa and young Albert Pujols.
“Albert was the best player on the team, he was the best player in the league and he was also the hardest-working player,” Luhnow said. “He was there the earliest, he took the most swings, he did the most work, and that set such a good example for the rest of the Cardinals organization when I was there. I think Carlos is going to end up being that same type of player.”