Carlos Correa Makes Derek Jeter Hear Footsteps — The Heir Apparent to Baseball’s Ultimate Big Game Shortstop May Already be Here

Carlos Correa is not Derek Jeter. But he’s gaining on him. With Correa having another one of those games on the big stage that makes you think that maybe the 26-year-old shortstop is the young star the Houston Astros really cannot afford to ever let leave, baseball destiny turned.

Correa hit a mammoth home run, and threw out another foolish runner at home, knocking the last bit of fight out of the Minnesota Twins in the process.

The Twins and their pinstriped-spooked fans thought they were fortunate to be playing the Astros in the playoffs rather than the New York Yankees. Turns out, they vastly underrated Houston’s modern baseball dynasty. And neglected to take into account that Correa is the best big game shortstop since Jeter.

“He’s a great player,” Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker says. “He’s one of the best shortstops and best players in the game. He can do it on both sides. He’s a Gold Glove type player. He’s an MVP-type player. He rakes. He plays the field very well.”

Like Jeter, Correa seems to be made for the playoffs. He now has 12 postseason home runs, the second most ever for a shortstop. Correa only trails Jeter, who has 20, in that spotlight category. Correa’s 12 postseason home runs have come in 52 playoffs games. Jeter hit his 20 in 158 playoff games.

You don’t have to be a Sabermetrics analyst or a converted NASA engineer to understand what that pace comparison suggests. Yes Yankees fans, those outraged cries of blasphemy today may ring hollow by the time Carlos Correa is done.

Almost all sports teams try to pretend like the world is against them. In the case of these 2020 Astros — who are hounded by the sign stealing scandal of 2017 — it’s actually true.

Like Jeter — who never hit more 24 home runs in a season and only broke the 100 RBI mark once in 20 years in the Bronx — Correa’s regular seasons do not always seem to add up to what you expect. In fact, one could argue that this strange, short coronavirus season was downright alarming from an offensive standpoint for Correa.

But some guys just show up in the bright lights of the playoffs. Some guys shine when others shrink.

Correa’s Big Game Future

Carlos Correa’s never shied away from a big moment in his life. And there he is again in Minnesota, turning on a Cody Stashak slider and sending it towards one of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes. That broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning, sending the Astros on to a 3-1 win and two-game sweep of a first round playoff series that lasted little more than 26 hours.

And there Correa is, taking a relay throw from Tucker and throwing out Twins baserunner Luis Arraez at home plate in the fifth inning. Correa might as well have gave Arraez and Twins third base coach Tony Diaz the Dikembe Mutombo finger wag after that one. How did the Twins not expect that from Correa? Hadn’t they scouted the defense he played all season?

“I don’t know why he sent him,” Correa says, his eyes lighting up and the smile under his blue mask big enough to still be noticeable in his postgame Zoom session with reporters.

It turns out there are plenty of fools still sleeping on Correa and the core of the Astros that’s made two of the last three World Series. No wonder why the Astros almost partied like it was 2017 in the coronavirus pandemic, closed-off clubhouse this time.

Almost all sports teams try to pretend like the world is against them. In the case of these 2020 Astros — who are hounded by the sign stealing scandal of 2017 — it’s actually true. Even Kenny Mayne is taking sarcastic digs at the Astros on SportsCenter.

“It was a special celebration this time,” Correa says of the Astros’ first post sign stealing investigation playoff advance. “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 going to say now? We’re a solid team. We played great baseball. We won a series on the road in Minnesota. So what are they going t0 say now?”

The Astros critics will probably scream the things they have been screaming on social media all year. What will change is how the sports world sees Carlos Correa as he piles up more and more big game moments. Correa will become an unrestricted free agent after next season and given his age and position, he’ll likely get one of baseball’s true mega contracts.

If Astros owner Jim Crane does not step in, the best big game shortstop since Derek Jeter could actually end up playing in the Bronx in 2022, going for more World Series titles there rather than in Houston. (Jeter had already won four of his five championships at age 26.) Especially if Gleyber Torres’ shortstop defense does not improve and the Yankees decide to move him elsewhere in the infield.

There figure to be other big-pocketed Correa suitors, too. That is a concern for another day, though.

For now, the calendar’s finally actually turned to October, the Astros have already won a playoff series and Carlos Correa is doing Carlos Correa playoff things.

Surprised by that? Like that Twins third base coach, you just haven’t been paying close enough attention.