Puerto Rican star shortstop Carlos Correa, of the Houston Astros, has no doubt that his physical condition will be the best when the new season of the American League begins and will again be a decisive force in the offense of the team.
The back problems he suffered in the second half of last season, the worst in his brilliant professional career, meant that in the end he could not give the team the help he needed when the Championship Series came against the Boston Red Sox.
Correa, limited to 110 games after spending six weeks on the mid-season injury list, never felt comfortable for the rest of the season or in the finals.
After the Astros were eliminated by the Red Sox, Correa began the winter with the goal of achieving a better physical condition.
The best show that goes in that direction was when he has impressed this weekend with his unstoppable batting practice at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches (Florida).
Then he admitted that the ball was coming off his bat and that was a very good sign.
“I think last year I could not hit as I wanted after injuring myself,” admitted Correa. “It feels good to come back healthy.”
After a 2017 in which he was the owner of the short stops in the All-Star Game by the American League and helped the Astros to be crowned in the World Series -connected five homers in the final phase- Correa had a batting line of. 239 / .323 / .405 with 15 homers and 65 RBIs and .728 OPS, the lowest of his career.
Correa missed 36 games from June 26 to August 10 and only averaged .180 with .517 from OPS in 133 at-bats in the regular season since returning.
“I’m not going to try harder, I’ll go out and do whatever it takes to play from the Opening Game and be able to play 160 games,” said Correa. “I feel that last year I went over in the spring, so this year I’m going to be smarter, it’s what I learned the most from last year, be smart and not overwork.”
Correa’s teammates have not lost faith in his shortstop, which is about to start the season with 24 years of age, which gives it a very large margin of growth.
“He can become the best player in the league,” said third baseman Alex Bregman.
“When you see my numbers and the position I defend, if I’m healthy, I have good statistics,” Correa analyzed. “This is what I do when I am free of injuries, and this year I will go out and keep everything in order and be as healthy as possible, an objective that I must fulfill from the first day I arrived at the training camp.” (USA) (EFE) .-
