North Correa? South Correa? Maybe Minnesota?
ALSO: MILO HAMILTON AND HARRY CARAY WERE COMBATANTS IN CUBS BOOTH
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
From Mark Bowman of MLB.com: Atlanta’s Spencer Strider was the fastest pitcher ever to record 200 strikeouts, breaking Randy Johnson‘s record. He struck out over a third of the batters he faced, became the first pitcher to record 200 strikeouts without giving up 100 hits, and could have won the Cy Young award as a rookie had he not begun the season in the bullpen . . .
Current Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. will be 26 when he becomes eligible for free agency at the end of the 2025 season . . .
Two reasons Brandon Belt (signed by the Blue Jays) remained without a team late into the free agent season: his age and his injury history . . .
The Braves would be wise to sign left-fielder Adam Duvall before he falls into the clutches of the arch-rival Mets . . .
There hasn’t been a forfeit in baseball since 1995 . . .
Andy Strasberg, formerly in the San Diego front office, is out with a new book, Home Runs: Tales of Tonks, Taters, Contests, and Derbies.
Leading Off
Correa’s Odyssey Finally Stops Where It Started
By Dan Schlossberg
Maybe the third time’s the charm.
At least that’s the view of Carlos Correa, agent Scott Boras, and the Minnesota Twins.
Like a seagull stealing a slice of pizza on the Jersey shore, the Twins pounced after the medical staffs of both the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets paused.
Apparently they were concerned about a metal plate placed in the shortstop’s right leg nine years ago, when he was still in the minors.
Correa reported numbness and vibrations triggered by a hard slide into second base late last season. That raised red flags, though the player missed no time from that mishap. In fact, he did his best hitting of the 2022 season in the final month — perhaps in a final push for financial nirvana.
Urged on by Boras, Correa exercised the first of two opt-outs in his three-year, $103 million Minnesota contract. That immediately made him the top gun of the four-man elite shortstop class and the third-most-prized free agent after pitchers Justin Verlander and Jacob deGrom.
Apparently, 28-year-old shortstops with power, speed, and Gold Glove defense don’t grow on trees.
Now that Correa and Company have signed, it turns out that Trea Turner is the only one who got $300 million, the amount the Phillies agreed to pay him over the course of his 11-year deal.
Xander Bogaerts got $280 million, Correa $200 million, and Dansby Swanson $177 million, all for varying lengths of time. In fact, Bogaerts will be 41 by the time his San Diego contract expires.
Correa could realize a lot more than his guaranteed $200 million, however. His pact contains four vesting clauses that could bring him closer to $300 million — if he stays healthy.
That’s a tall order for a player who has been on the injured list seven times in the past eight seasons.
If Correa avoids the IL, he could help the Twins return to the American League playoffs. But he was also there last year, when Minnesota missed the postseason.
In the meantime, the New York Mets are chagrined at their loss. After agreeing to a 12-year deal for $315, the Correa deal was curtailed by medical reports relating to a leg injury incurred in 2014. That same injury resulted in the Giants killing an earlier deal for even more money.
Now the Twins have to hope they have one solid, healthy player rather than a North Correa and South Correa.
At least he’s no longer on the same team as Carlos Carrasco. That would have been way too confusing.
Here’s The Pitch weekend editor Dan Schlossberg started with the AP but now writes for forbes.com, Latino Sports, Memories & Dreams, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Sports Collectors Digest, and many other outlets. He’s a baseball speaker too. Contact him via ballauthor@gmail.com.
Cleaning Up
Milo and Harry: a Match Not Made in Baseball Heaven
By Bob Ibach
The seventh inning was REALLY a stretch when Harry Caray and Milo Hamilton shared the broadcast booth of the Chicago Cubs in the ‘80s.
Remember that song Harry used to sing? Here's a little bit of history on how it all got started:
During his last round as White Sox owner in the late 1970s, Sox owner Bill Veeck decided to have Caray, a team broadcaster, sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh inning stretch.
Veeck asked Caray to sing for the entire park, but he refused. Veeck replied that he already had a recording, so Caray would be heard either way.
Harry was now sort of trapped, so he reluctantly agreed to sing it live, accompanied by White Sox organist Nancy Faust.
So that's how it all began. With reluctance by Harry.
When he shifted over to the Cubs for the 1982 season, Harry went on to become famous for singing the tune, continuing to do so at Wrigley Field after becoming the Cubs lead broadcaster -- much to the chagrin of Milo Hamilton, whose autobiography I helped write many years later with baseball author Dan Schlossberg.
It was entitled Making Airwaves and Harry and Milo DID make WAVES for sure.
That press box wasn't large enough to hold both of them, as Milo only referred to Harry as "that Canary."
One of my first PR assignments was to get Harry and Milo together for a little lunch along Michigan Ave. We chose the Drake Hotel for this get-together.
As we all sat down, not 30 seconds into our "mending-a-fence meeting" Harry looked over at Milo and said, "Ya know, Milo, this booth ain't gonna be large enough for both of us."
I could feel Milo bristle. He looked right at Harry and replied, "Harry, I ain't going nowhere. I've got a four-year contract."
And so it was Game On.
Being the PR director for the Cubs in those days, I needed to wear a referee's shirt on some days to keep them apart. On some days, you could cut the tension in that TV or radio booth with a knife.
Somehow it all worked out.
Milo eventually left and went to Houston, where his work earned him entrance into the broadcaster's wing of Cooperstown's Hall of Fame. Caray also wound up in that New York quaint village museum.
On my next trip up there, I'm gonna check to see how far apart the two of them are positioned in that special wing of the Hall.
Bob Ibach served as publicity and publications director for the Chicago Cubs when Milo and Harry were there. He still lives in Illinois. E.mail him at bobdunk@aol.com.
Timeless Trivia
Ray Fosse, 23, suffered a fractured and separated left shoulder when Pete Rose collided with him on the last play of the 1970 All-Star Game, a 5-4, 12-inning win for the NL. He never regained his swing or returned to the level of play that he displayed before the injury. In a 1999 San Francisco Chronicle interview, Fosse said he still could not lift his left arm and also suffered from arthritis. The collision opened a debate into home-plate collisions but nothing was done until Buster Posey suffered a season-ending injury during the 2013 campaign, resulting in a 2014 rule prohibiting the practice . . .
The first player elected to start an All-Star Game via write-in vote was Rico Carty of the Atlanta Braves in 1970 but the only write-in who also won All-Star Game MVP honors was Steve Garvey four years later . . .
Since the start of the 2018 campaign, Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola has led all pitchers with 871 2/3 innings pitched . . .
Nola, Julio Urias, Yu Darvish, Jack Flaherty, Luis Severino, and Lucas Giolito are among the star pitchers eligible for free agency this fall — not to mention Shohei Ohtani . . .
Once-prized southpaw closer Aroldis Chapman, most recently with the Yankees, can’t find a taker after enduring a rough season that included a month-long IL stint that resulted from an infected tattoo . . .
Instead of a full spring training with his new team, the San Diego Padres, ancient Nelson Cruz will be playing for the Dominican team in the ill-timed World Baseball Classic. The veteran DH, pushing 43, is also general manager of the Dominican team.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Brian Harl [bchrom831@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.