Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa led his team on a great 2020 postseason run after major criticism. Is he a new superhero or supervillain in the MLB?
Carlos Correa quickly became a hated ballplayer after his responses to the Houston Astros cheating scandal in the 2017 World Series against the Dodgers. The 2017 Astros will be highly criticized forever. In addition, that World Series banner will be in question until the end of time.
This is good. Correa said it impossible to steal signs on the road and details some playoff hits that weren’t aided by trash can. pic.twitter.com/NUvie04F8l
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) February 15, 2020
Players around the league expressed their anger in postgame interviews and on social media. The Astros were punished by the MLB but many thought they got off easy. Fans were also displeased with the lack of apologies from Astros players and the organization when the cheating scandal surfaced.
The investigation came about in early 2020 so fans were even angrier because they had just competed in the 2019 World Series and lost to the Nationals. Tempers slightly calmed due to the pandemic’s emergence which delayed and shortened the MLB season.
The Astros were now led by Dusty Baker but the lineup was extremely similar to the past few years. Correa and the Astros were looking to redeem themselves in 2020 by making the playoffs yet again and competing for a title. It seems like the Astros mindset was to regain the trust of the fans while playing winning baseball without stealing signs.
After narrowly making the playoffs this season, they swept the Twins in the Wild Card Series, defeated the Athletics in the ALDS, and lost to the Rays in the ALCS. Correa was trying to make a statement in the 2020 postseason and he surely did.
He was one of the best hitters for the Astros and hit .362 while slugging .766. Correa also hit six home runs and drove in 17 RBIs. As you could imagine, he was a key player yet again in the Astros playoff run and could be viewed as a hero for Astros fans.
I do have to give credit to how Correa played and the leadership he showed on the field. He went to the mound to calm down young pitchers, energized his team in the dugout, and sparked the offense with his clutch hitting.
But, when you are not an Astros fan, you have to cringe when he says things like this during the postseason:
"I know a lot of people are mad. I know a lot of people don't want to see us here. But what are they gonna say now?”
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 30, 2020
Carlos Correa didn't hold back after the Astros’ sweep of the Twins https://t.co/4IMJ9K8QYy pic.twitter.com/otg6Nf0Sfm
If this Correa press conference does not remind you a little bit of a supervillain, I do not know what will. Correa performed exceptionally well in the 2020 postseason so he only made my anger towards Correa even bigger than before.
It seems like the success of the Astros only fuels my anger towards the cheaters, just like a supervillain in a movie. Again, it depends on who you ask but Correa can be viewed as a superhero or a supervillain because of his raw talent.
My guess is that he will continue to produce as a shortstop for the Astros for years to come, and only grow his superhero/supervillain status.
Only imagine what kind of supervillain he would have turned into if he led the Houston Astros to a 2020 World Series title. Luckily, we do not have to imagine that because the Rays defeated the Astros in the ALCS, stopping Correa from doing any more damage in 2020.