Clemente’s Legacy: Santa Isabel remains in Correa’s heart

Astros shortstop Carlos Correa has never forgotten how the folks in his hometown of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, always rallied behind him and his family to help nurture his baseball dreams as a child.

Long before Correa became the first Puerto Rican to be picked first overall in Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft in 2012 the people of Santa Isabel raised funds to help cover the travel expenses of the young phenom. His neighbors and friends always pitched in so Correa could showcase his talent.

Correa repaid their loyalty with a massive celebration in the town square in 2015 when he was named the American League Rookie of the Year.

Two years later as Correa was helping Houston win the 2017 World Series, the Astros’ All-Star shortstop kept Santa Isabel and all of Puerto Rico on his mind as he used his fame and financial resources to bring relief supplies home after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.

“The island gave us a lot when we were in Puerto Rico before we even played professional baseball,” Correa told La Vida Baseball. “After the catastrophic hurricane hit I felt an obligation to help my people, especially all the people from Santa Isabel who always lent me their support so that I could go to tournaments to show my talent and go to showcases.”

As the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s Sept. 20 landing in Puerto Rico approaches, La Vida Baseball will highlight the way today’s Puerto Rican ballplayers lived up to the saintly Roberto Clemente’s legacy in helping lift their island during the recovery process by giving their fellow Boricuas something to cheer about with their play on the field and, more importantly, by their efforts back home.

Commitment to Community

Correa’s commitment to altruism was clear early in his career. In 2016, he joined a Houston mattress firm and a bedding company donate 500 mattresses, bed frames and bedding as part of the Houston Children’s Charity’s “A Better Night’s Sleep” program.

Then on Sept. 18, 2017, only two days before Hurricane Maria hit his native Puerto Rico, Correa was handing out another 500 mattresses and bedding to Houstonians as part of HCC’s Hurricane Harvey Children’s Relief Fund.

Correa grew up poor under modest circumstances. He never had a comfortable bed growing up, so he has made it his mission to provide mattresses and bedding to Houstonians in need.

In the spirit of Clemente, Correa helped HCC raise more than $300,000 last September in an attempt to provide 5,000 beds for Hurricane Harvey victims in Houston.

“The name Roberto Clemente signifies a legend,” Correa said. “He’s obviously a person who inspired a lot of players to not only be good on the field but also off the field to focus to help the people who are most in need. That’s what he did that made him the Great One. …

“That’s the legacy that Roberto Clemente left. That’s what all of us Boricuas want to leave. We want to not only be known for the talent on the field but also for the type of person we are off the field.”

Personal Impact

On the field, Correa has already accomplished quite a bit. He made his debut in the majors against the White Sox as a 20-year-old on June 8, 2015. Despite missing the first two months of that season, he edged out fellow Boricua Francisco Lindor for Rookie of the Year honors. More importantly, Correa helped the Astros reach the playoffs for the first time in a decade that year.

He earned his first All-Star berth in 2017 and then helped the Astros win the first World Series championship in franchise history last year while also rallying teammates and major leaguers in support of the victims of Hurricane Maria.

Correa helped coordinate sending a pair of cargo planes and ships full of food, water and supplies to Puerto Rico. Remaining loyal to Santa Isabel and the surrounding area, he gave orders to have the supplies sent to the southern part of the island.

Once the Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, the young superstar personally returned to deliver supplies to Puerto Ricans recovering from Maria’s devastation.

That’s when he truly felt the impact of his actions.

“Just the reaction of people when you take them food or water was striking,” he said. “They hadn’t eaten in a few days. The reaction that they have when they see your presence and see that you’re there to support them, you won’t forget it.”

Correa was so committed to helping his island, he skipped the Astros’ trip to the White House this spring to instead send supplies to Puerto Rico for the Hurricane Maria victims.

He was smooth enough not to make a political statement about President Donald Trump, whom many Puerto Ricans resent because of what they view as an inadequate response to help the hurricane victims.

“It was a difficult decision because it’s an invitation to the White House to meet the president of the United States,” Correa told USA Today in March. “As I’ve said before, it’s an honor to be invited to such a historic place. But I also had my people in Puerto Rico who are in need and suffering and dying because they don’t have food on the table, so I decided to go that way.’’

Boricua Brothers

Correa, who won’t turn 24 until Sept. 22, is an old soul that embodies Clemente’s legacy perfectly. He’s proud, strong and committed to winning on the field.

More importantly, perhaps, is the strength of Correa’s convictions as well. He’s a Boricua eager to make a difference and help his island, his adopted hometown of Houston and Latin America.

He and fellow All-Stars Lindor and Javier Báez of the Cubs will continue to give people on their island reason to debate which of the young middle infielders is the best from Puerto Rico. The island that produced Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar may have never had so many talented middle infielders in the majors at the same time.

A good argument can be made for Correa, Lindor or Báez. The argument will rage for years if they remain healthy. All three have starred in the World Series over the last two years. All three have been All-Stars already.

Two of them have already tasted World Series champagne, and all three have played in the Fall Classic.

Even better, all three know what it means to strive to carry Clemente’s legacy.

“We all know that the inspiration of every Puerto Rican player is Mr. Roberto Clemente, not just for them but for me too,” said 2017 AL Most Valuable Player Jose Altuve, a native of Venezuela and Correa’s teammate. “You hear that Roberto Clemente was more than just a great player on the field with 3,000 hits and tremendous numbers.

“But off the field he did everything to help not only his country. It leaves you with that the desire to also want to be better, not just on the field but off the field. I think Carlos and all the Puerto Rican ballplayers were very committed to help in the recovery of Puerto Rico.”

Featured Image: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Sport