HOUSTON – Puerto Rico was full of talented young baseball players back in 2012, but there was one face and one name at the top of every amateur scout’s prospect list.
His name was Carlos Javier Correa, and at the age of 17, he was a bonafide future star. Many were sold on his upside, and in that group were the Houston Astros.
“With the number one pick in the 2012 draft,” MLB Commissioner Bud Selig announced, “The Astros select Shortstop Carlos Correa.”
That was the start of Correa’s journey in professional baseball.
By 2015, he received the call to the Big Leagues where at the age of 20 Correa joined the Astros and wound up playing in 99 games in his rookie season that began what been a franchise-changing playoff run that hasn’t slowed down except for one season, in 2016, in which the Astros failed to make the postseason. In his debut with the Astros, Correa consistently showed flashes of greatness en route to 22 home runs and 68 RBI opening seasons.
The rest of Correa’s story is well documented. It led to more playoff appearances, a 2017 World Series Championship, and heartbreaking setbacks in the 2018 ALCS, 2019 World Series, and the 2021 World Series. The offseason followed and with the free agency now in the picture, Correa’s days in Houston would soon be over.
Fast forward to now, where Correa is enjoying his first season in Minnesota with the Twins -- he will return to Minute Maid Park this week as the Twins visit Minute Maid Park for a three-game series against the Astros. Correa may have left the organization that first called his name, but he remains revered in this city for all of the great work he did while manning shortstop for seven years along with his dedication to charity work through his Carlos Correa Family Foundation.
On Tuesday, Correa will be in the Twins lineup but he will get the special recognition he deserves during a pre-game video tribute the Astros organization has put together. It will be special and the fans will respond. He wears another jersey now, but in the eyes of many fans, he is and always will be an Astro at heart.