A few members of the Twins watched a recent MLB Network segment that asked whether Royce Lewis was the best player on the team. There's a good argument for that, they agreed. But where there is no debate, in the minds of many associated with the club, is who is the Twins' most valuable player.
Carlos Correa is atop that list. Correa does it all on the field. He's an excellent defensive shortstop.
He's a solid hitter. There are few players who perform better in the postseason. But measuring Correa's impact behind the scenes is where he truly stands out.
"There's just a demand to win, to excel, to be exceptional at what you do, and to always be looking toward what we have to do next to win the game, period," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "He brings that every day, all day long. It's not something you can just talk about.
He lives it. It's the only way he knows how to be, and I think it's rubbed off on everybody in this room." In a roller coaster of a season that featured a 12-game winning streak and three separate losing streaks of at least five games, Correa is a steadying force.
He doesn't waver from his routines. His mindset doesn't change after good or bad games. He spoke up during a players-only team meeting last month, urging position players to start their pregame work earlier.
"You have a lot of players that came up in the COVID years," said Correa, 29. "They are used to showing up late and you have the time set to show up. For them, that's the norm.
"When we came .