(SportsRadio 610) - Before the Astros take the field Tuesday evening against the Minnesota Twins, fans, former teammates and coaches will pay homage to Carlos Correa, who returns to Minute Maid Park for the first time since leaving in free agency during the offseason.
Correa will be remembered for his heroic play on the field and in the batter's box.
He’s the best shortstop in the history of the organization and it’s not even close.
That’s not to slight Dickie Thon, Craig Reynolds or even Adam Everett. All of them won the hearts of fans during their respective time with the organization over the years.
Carlos was just different.
He was special.
He made the Astros special, and made fans feel like they might see something special at any moment when he was on the field.
Sure, he leads the franchise list in home runs, RBI and OPS for a shortstop.
The former No. 1 overall pick in 2015 compiled a ton of accolades over his seven-year stretch with the Astros, like winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award, starting the 2017 All-Star Game and helping his franchise to its first ever World Series Championship in ‘17.
Correa had his best season in ‘17, despite playing just 109 games. Correa slashed .315/.391/.550 with a career high .941 OPS.
He hit 24 home runs, drove in 84 runs and scored 82 more while leading the club in slugging percentage.
Fans, former teammates and coaches along with countless media members who witnessed him over the years can recall their favorite play, home run, clutch hit or quote.
Correa will always be remembered in the city for taking the initiative to step up in the face of adversity following the leak of the cheating scandal ahead of the 2020 regular season.
He became the face, voice and heartbeat of the team.
It wasn’t something he necessarily wanted to do, but rather, needed to do.
And, he was a natural.
It was his time.
Upon leaving the Astros this past offseason and turning down a 5-year $160 million offer to stay in Houston long term, Correa bet on himself so to speak. He signed a 3-year deal worth $105 million, including a player-opt-out after each season with the Twins, which was the highest average annual value they’ve ever extended to a player in franchise history.
Houston fans seemed to understand.
Something seemed to click.
Maybe finally after decades of sustaining the departure of some of the city’s most beloved athletes across all sports franchises, finally created some sort of immunity in the patrons of our professional sports teams fandom.
Maybe, it was because he’d helped capture something, a World Series, nobody could ever take away from the city.
Maybe, fans just appreciated, respected and remembered what he meant to the city during one of its darkest hours in its sports history.
And maybe, the emergence of rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña helped a little too.
Meanwhile, Correa hasn’t exactly earned the $35 million he’s due from the Twins this season as fans see it in Minneapolis.
He’s slashing just .266/.348/.424 with 14 home runs and 39 RBI’s in 95 games this season.
The field hasn’t been as fruitful to him in Minneapolis either, committing eight errors contributing to the second worst fielding percentage of his career of .976
There’s already been reports that Correa has decided to opt-out at seasons end.
However, Correa tried to squash those rumors a bit earlier this season saying, “I told’em, ‘Hey guys, I know I have the opt-outs in the contract. But I really like it here, I love the people here. I love the way I’m treated here…I would love to have a long-term relationship here if that’s what you guys would like,” Correa to The Athletics Ken Rosenthal.
Regardless of where Correa may end up next, his time in Houston will always hold a special place in the hearts and minds of those that merely got to bear witness and see him help bring the city a World Series Championship it so deserved.
Tip your caps to Correa on Tuesday night. He’s earned it.
Shaun Bijani has spent the last 16 years covering the Houston sports scene for SportsRadio 610. Follow him on Twitter @ShaunBijani.