HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- After going hitless in two at bats against the Rangers on Saturday night, Carlos Correa's prolonged slump hit 1-for-40. That might worry most managers but not Dusty Baker.
"I'm proud of him actually," Baker said Sunday. "I would've torn up something by now if I was 1-for-40. I did that 1-for-20 and they thought I was on some mood altering something."
A double on July 20 against the Indians is Correa's lone hit over this stretch, to which Baker said he was unaware of.
"Wow!" Baker exclaimed after double-checking he heard 1-for-40 correctly. "I didn't know until you guys told me."
Baker doesn't like to use the word "slump", opting instead for "unfortunate time of the year". Correa's unfortunate time of the year is three weeks old, but the Astros manager said he's shown how strong his mental makeup by not taking his offensive struggles with him to shortstop.
"He's a team guy, and he takes pride in defense," Baker said. "Hitting's fun, everybody loves to hit, but defense is work. At shortstop you can't have any mental lapses because you're in almost every play."
Baseball is a fickle game and players can break out of slumps in a hurry. Baker said he went 4-for-5 after his 1-for-20 slump and he knows it's only a matter of time before Correa breaks out of his.
"1-for-40? Man. All he needs is a couple of cheap hits.
"Boy, 1-for-40 is awful. I'll say a couple of prayers for him."
