Blue Jays: Sorry Mr. Correa, you’re out and you’re wrong

The Blue Jays defeated the Houston Astros by a score of 7-4 in their series opener on Thursday night. The game ended with Roberto Osuna’s 22nd save of the season, after he retired Carlos Correa on a come-backer to the mound. Correa was not happy with the game’s final play, and made his feelings known after the game.

The Blue Jays always seem to find themselves in the middle of one controversy or another, and Thursday night was no exception. That said, this should be an issue that dies off quickly, especially considering how minor the incident was.

The Blue Jays managed to pick up a 7-4 victory in the game, and it ended with Roberto Osuna retiring Carlos Correa on a come-backer to the mound. When Osuna made the play, he took his time getting the ball to first base, as the crowd roared over another Blue Jays’ victory. Correa took exception to the way the final play went down, and didn’t hold back much in post-game interviews, as captured by Sportsnet.

“I don’t know what’s so special about that. Throwing me a 3-2 cutter, showing me up. I go home, relax. Next time I face him, he better not give up a homer.”

https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/883175034839334917

Let me say this before I start into this scenario. Carlos Correa is one of the best young players in baseball, and any team would be thrilled to have him to build their franchise around. He’s one of the many reasons the Astros have been baseball’s best team in 2017, and should be a star for the next decade or more in this league.

However, first things first: he needs to grow up a little here.

If you didn’t see the way the game ended, give it a gander below and judge for yourself if Osuna did anything offensive. I’d venture a guess that 99.9% of us wouldn’t think twice about the play without any prompting. Evidently, Correa is in that 0.1% category.

Sure, he could have picked up the ball and immediately thrown over to first base, but how often do you see a pitcher do that on the final out? They almost always take their time and collect themselves, just as you see Osuna doing here.

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He doesn’t stare in Correa’s direction, or mock him in any way, he simply takes a few extra seconds to collect himself before making the throw to first. Part of being a closer is dealing with the high stakes drama of the moment, and there’s a great deal of relief when the job is done, whether you’re a lockdown closer like Osuna or not. Taking a breath before making that throw has never been offensive before, but somehow Correa found a way to make it personal on Thursday.

This is nothing more than a talented young player being frustrated with the outcome of the game. The Astros dropped the series opener to a team they should probably beat up on (they are the top team in baseball after all), and he went just 1-4 in the game, also leaving three runners on base.

It’s doubtful that the Astros’ young shortstop spends much time reading about himself on Twitter, but if he logged on after the game he may have had a tough time finding folks that agreed with his point of view. I certainly did.

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Regardless, it should be an issue that blows over very quickly, especially if/when Correa takes a look at the replay. Osuna did nothing wrong, and should have a pretty easy time sleeping tonight. He picked up his 22nd save of the season, his 21st in a row, and won a petty argument without having to say a word. All in a day’s work for the 22 year old flame thrower.