FLYING THE FRIENDLY SKIES?
How the latest chapter in Carlos Correa ordeal could've been solved at an airport
Jan 12, 2023, 4:04 pm
What a crazy free agency period for Carlos Correa. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
In less than one year, Carlos Correa has gone from being the coveted linchpin of one of the greatest infields in baseball history and a World Series champion to being regarded as damaged goods and playing in relative obscurity for a losing team in a secondary sports market.
This despite having one of the best seasons of his career in 2022.
How on Earth did that happen?
Last March, Correa turned down a five-year, $160 million offer from the Astros, the only team he had played for during his seven-year career. The Astros play in air-conditioned comfort in front of an average crowd of 33,000 adoring fans in Top 10 market Houston.
Instead he signed a three-year deal with the Minnesota Twins for $105 million with opt-outs after each year, which he exercised shortly after the 2022 season ended.
The Twins play in an outdoor stadium in the coldest climate in the Major Leagues. Their average attendance last year was 22,000 fans. Minneapolis-St. Paul is a Top 20 market and not nearly as diverse as Houston.
Despite Correa hitting .291 (well above his career average) with 22 homers, the Twins finished 2022 with a 78-84 record, out of the playoffs. The Astros, in case you haven’t been keeping up with the news, won the World Series with Correa’s replacement, rookie Jeremy Pena, becoming a fan favorite in Houston.
Back on the market for 2023, Correa received a mammoth 13-year, $350 million offer from the San Francisco Giants shortly before Christmas. That offer was rescinded after the Giants found an undisclosed (at the time) problem during Correa’s routine physical.
That’s when the New York Mets swooped in with a 12-year, $315 million offer. But the Mets also backed out over health concerns.
On Wednesday Correa finally re-upped with the Twins, this time for a six-year deal for $200 million. His value plummeted six years and $150 million in one month. Tesla stockholders said, hey, we feel your pain.
That’s three separate deals over one month and each time Correa’s price was marked down. That’s not baseball. That’s Nordstrom Rack.
The problem and cause of Correa’s descending value is his surgically repaired right ankle. In 2014, then a 19-year-old sensation, Correa suffered an ankle injury sliding into third base. He had surgery, which included the insertion of a metal plate in his leg. He went on to a productive, at times spectacular, tenure with the Astros.
Here’s the part of the story that I find most interesting. How wasn’t it well known that Correa has been playing all this time with a metal plate in his leg? That didn’t become widespread knowledge until last year when he slid hard into second base and felt numbness and vibrations in his leg. After the game he told reporters about the metal plate.
That was the first I heard about it. And this is a culture where nothing is private and every excruciating detail about an athlete’s physical and mental health is fair game in the media.
I have a friend who’s in my travel group. He had hip resurfacing surgery a few years ago, which involved placing a metal cap over a bone in his hip joint. Now when he passes through TSA security at the airport, he sets off the metal detector every time. It never fails. Then he is patted down and felt up by TSA agents.
I’m not saying that Correa kept his metal plate a secret. I’m saying fans didn’t know about it.
Correa is a big deal. He flies a lot, with his team, on business, for promotional appearances, on personal trips. Teammates, including former teammates (especially one) who may hold a grudge against the Astros, never let it slip that Correa has a metal plate in his leg? Fellow travelers at the airport never heard the metal detector go beep?
I asked a friend who flies with a professional sports team, do players go through airport security, including a metal detector, like the rest of us?
I was surprised, the answer is no. I’m not sure how I feel about that.
“We have a private terminal with private parking at the airport. There is security, but they only pat down a small number of us at random. We don’t go through the typical metal detector that regular travelers do,” he said.
I also asked someone who travels with a major college football team. Same thing.
“We get on a bus together on campus and go straight to the plane. When we land, we get on another bus that takes us to our hotel. ESPN will show the team getting off the bus at a stadium or hotel. That’s the bus that meets us at the plane. You’re asking if the players and coaches and school officials go through a metal detector. We don’t.”
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The Texans make just their third ever visit to Lambeau Field Sunday. It’s a dandy matchup as the Texans try to run their record to 6-1 at the expense of the 4-2 Green Bay Packers. The Texans have one win and one loss in Wisconsin. In 2008 the gameday high temperature was 13 degrees. Kris Brown kicked a 40 yard field goal as time expired to give the Texans a 24-21 win over a Packers team that struggled to a 6-10 record under first-year starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Texans posted their second consecutive 8-8 finish that year. In 2016 the mercury reached a balmy high of 34 degrees as the Texans fell 21-13 at Lambeau. Inexplicably, Rodgers somehow managed to win the quarterback matchup with Brock Osweiler. The Texans and Packers each won their division that year. Both Texans’ trips to “America’s Dairyland” occurred in December. No risk of frozen tundra this time around. The forecast for Green Bay Sunday calls for a high of 75 degrees! That’s almost 20 degrees warmer than normal there for October 20.
It’s a dynamic QB matchup with C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love sharing the field. Love broke out in a huge way in 2023 after serving a two-year apprenticeship under Rodgers. After a stumbling 3-6 start to their season the Packers went 6-2 the rest of the way to snag a playoff spot. They obliterated the Cowboys in a Wild Card game in Arlington (before everyone obliterated the Cowboys in Arlington...) then led at the 49ers with under 90 seconds to go before San Francisco scored to win 24-21. The Packers made crystal clear their belief in Love by signing him to a four-year 220 million dollar contract extension in July. That’s 55 mil per season. Stroud becomes extension-eligible after next season. Anyone think he won’t be in position to command at least 65 mil per season?
Stroud sure looks to be the guy to finally give the Texans the long-term stability and excellence they have never had at the most important position in the sport. The Pack is all in on Love continuing its unreal long-term QB stability and excellence. Love took the reins after Rodgers helmed the offense for 15 seasons. Rodgers took the reins after Brett Favre’s 16-year tenure. So if Love makes it for nine years as the starter, that’s three primary QBs in 40 years. Absolutely amazing.
After missing two games because of a sprained knee ligament suffered in the final seconds of the Packers’ season opening loss to the Eagles in Brazil, Love has thrown 10 touchdown passes in three games. But he has only completed 59 percent of his passes, and has thrown at least one interception per game.
The Texans’ first trip to the NFC North this season went brutally badly, the 34-7 beatdown from Minnesota. The Vikings beat the Packers 31-29 in week four of the season. That was Love’s first game back, he threw four touchdown passes and three picks. One defensive weapon the Texans will have against the Pack they did not have against the Vikes is Denico Autry. The 34-year-old Autry returns from his six-game banned substance suspension. That happens as one of the fill-ins for him, Mario Edwards, starts his own four-game substance abuse suspension. That should be a net improvement for the Texans.
X-factors
The single biggest variable in swinging the outcome of football games is turnovers. So far this season the Packers have been a takeaway machine. Last season the Packers generated just 18 turnovers over their 17 regular season games, only six teams took the ball away less often. Through just six games this season the Packers already have 17 takeaways. No other NFL team has more than 13, the Texans have just seven. The Packers have produced exactly three turnovers in five of their six games, and got two in the other. Every defense preaches turnovers, so it’s not as if first-year Green Bay defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has introduced radical concepts that are yielding magical results. But the results are what they are.
If the Texans take care of the ball, they have a terrific chance to win. Having Joe Mixon back aids the cause on two fronts. One, Mixon is obviously the Texans’ best running back. Two, Mixon last fumbled in 2021. The Texans probably best plan to score 25 or more points to win this one because the Packers figure to score a bit. In Love’s four starts the Pack has lit the scoreboard for 29, 29, 24, and 34 points. On the other hand, the Texans’ D has been pretty stout, allowing the third-fewest yards per game (Green Bay rates 18th). It’s a strength vs. strength battle. The Texans have allowed no opponent more than 313 yards in total offense. The Packers have amassed at least 378 yards in five of their six games, and managed 328 in their worst performance.
For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube
The Astros are always in season for discussion. Our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts drop Mondays: Click here to watch!