Correa is a cheater you can love, Astros win hearts as underdogs

It’s reasonable to hate the Houston Astros for cheating their way to the World Series in 2017 and – allegedly – in 2019.  It’s reasonable to hate them even while acknowledging their brilliance.  It was the most intelligent of intelligence operations, combining the newest technology with the oldest (trashcan-banging) to steal and relay the opposing pitcher’s signs.  

It worked, until they were outed by a former Astro, pitcher Mike Fiers.  You can call him a rat or a whistleblower, depending on your political persuasions.  I think he had a hidden agenda:  The Astros left him off the roster for the 2017 postseason, and he had new loyalties, pitching for the divisional rival Oakland Athletics.  He wasn’t going to carry water anymore for the Astros. 

From his perspective, he had worked hard for them that season, started 28 games, won 8, lost 10, and wasn’t subjected to heavy bombardment: 146 hits allowed in 153 innings.  To Fiers, it had to have been an insult to be told you’re inferior to Luke Gregerson, who’d been strafed for 62 hits in 61 innings, and Francisco Liriano, who was 0-2, walking 10 batters in 14 innings.  

So thanks to Mike Fiers, the Astros became reviled, even though some of them are the most stand-up people you could ever meet.  Carlos Correa, for example.

Correa, their 26-year-old shortstop, owned up to the errors of his ways, all the while committing hardly any in the field – 1 in 11 postseason games at the most challenging of all the fielding positions.  “What we did in 2017 was all wrong,” he said, while pointing out that Major League Baseball did not rule that the Astros cheated beyond 2017, as many suspect they did.

Correa, unlike most of his teammates, did not shirk responsibility, did not say everybody else does it, did not say it made no difference in his performance.

So no matter how we may feel about the conniving Astros staying alive in the postseason against a team as decent and lovable as the backwater Tampa Bay Rays, our hearts can be warmed by the swagger and fortitude of Correa as he prepared to bat in the bottom of the 9th of a tied game on Thursday night.

The Astros were nearing postseason elimination, and they were out of quality pitching, the last resort being Framber Valdez, whom they needed to start yet another elimination game.  Valdez, chubby 26-year-old lefty, was warming up in the bullpen.  Unless the Astros could win it now, Valdez would have to be used up, unable to start on Friday.

So on his way to the on-deck circle, Correa addressed his manager, Dusty Baker: “Walkoff.”

“Go ahead, man,” said Baker.

And, indeed, Correa bashed a drive that easily cleared the deepest part of center field in Petco Park.  Ruthian in both the distance of the shot and the fact that he called it.  

He was confident because a few minutes earlier he’d taken a spin in the underground batting cage at Petco, batting coach Alex Cintron suggesting adjustments in his swing.  It was typical of Correa, incessantly working to improve his skills.

The Astros saw that sort of determination when they made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 amateur draft.  They also saw a powerful 6-foot-4 body with an arm that threw a baseball 97 mph, accurately, from deep in the infield. 

At the draft ceremony, Correa said his favorite ballplayer was Derek Jeter, “because he’s good on and outside the field.  It’s a very important part of this game to be good outside the field so people love you and enjoy being with you.”

He’s lived up to his goal as a teenager, become a philanthropist, a builder and rebuilder of his community, in Puerto Rico, where he was born, and in Houston, where he lives year-round.  Correa and his wife, Daniella Rodriguez, a former Miss Texas, frequently visit children in hospitals.  And they recently contributed $500,000 for medical supplies to treat Covid.  And whenever there’s a hurricane in his homeland, Correa is there to participate in the cleanup.

As for the Astros, 4-3 winners on Thursday night, they now trail Tampa Bay in the ALCS 3-2.  They’re trying to be the first team since the 2004 Boston Red Sox to trail 3-0 in the league championship and go on to win the World Series.

The avenue is there, because the Astros have their two most dominant starting pitchers, fully rested, for Friday’s Game 6 and a Game 7 if needed.  Valdez is MLB’s hottest pitcher in this postseason – 31 innings, 36 strikeouts, 6 runs allowed.  And then they have Lance McCullers, a hero in the 2017 World Series, who pitched a strong 7 innings in his most recent appearance.

The Astros, led by their uniquely likable manager, 71-year-old Dusty Baker, could be changing from villains to lovable underdogs.  After Correa bounded around the bases, Baker wrapped him in his arms for a prolonged hug, perhaps all the more poignant in these socially distanced times.  

Even if you’re in no mood to forgive the Astros, you can enjoy watching them.  As Mark Teixeira, former Yankees first baseman, put it on MLB Network: “A lot of people may not like them being there, but the Astros are a lot of fun to watch right now.”