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Carlos Correa Nearly Drowned in MN Lake Right Before Twins Traded Him
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- Carlos Correa Nearly Drowned in MN Lake Right Before Twins Traded Him
Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
Enjoying the weather today, Minnesota Twins fans? Just wait, tomorrow the forecast is calling for mid-70's throughout the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Not only will it feel like baseball season , but with that kind of heat wave, residents might even start itching for the lake life already.
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Don't count former Twin Carlos Correa among those excited for another summer in Minnesota. Not that it would matter anyway, being Correa was traded back to the Houston Astros last July.
But given what he told MLB.com recently, there's no guarantee the former Rookie of the Year would have stepped foot in another Minnesota lake, even if he was still in town.
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The time Carlos Correa nearly drowned in Lake Minnetonka
Not after the 31-year-old nearly drowned last summer swimming in the middle of Lake Minnetonka with his three-year-old son, on his back.
According to the story, as he tells it, Correa was out away from his boat, when he started cramping. Suddenly, with his body not complying, the high profile athlete found himself sinking with nothing to grab onto.
Carlos Correa was struggling for his life in the waters of a Minnesota lake last summer. His hamstrings and quads were cramping, his stamina getting weaker. He was halfway between the shore and the boat, and with his oldest son clinging to his neck, he was fighting for survival.
Eventually, he came across a buoy that helped him catch his breath, but he couldn't hang onto it. When he slipped under the water, Correa claims that grabbing the chain anchoring the buoy to the bottom of the lake cut his hand and caused an injury.
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Former Minnesota Twins star saved (and injured) by buoy
Thankfully, Carlos was able to call out for help loud enough to catch his family's attention back on the boat. His father then swam to him with a life jacket that quite literally saved his life.
Correa, who wasn't wearing a life jacket, spotted a buoy floating in the water a few feet away and decided clinging to it would be his only chance of escaping Lake Minnetonka alive. His 3-year-old son, Kylo, who was wearing a life jacket, was on his shoulders and asking if they would be all right.
Correa managed to reach the buoy but slipped off. He fell under the water and grabbed the chain, injuring his left hand. With Kylo's weight on his shoulders, Correa switched to his right hand, then his left and back to his right to stay above water. He yelled toward the boat for help. It was his last gasp.
"I'm like, 'This is all I got," he said.
Correa's father-in-law heard his cries and frantically swam from the boat toward him with a life jacket. He flung it. Correa reached out as far as he could and grabbed the jacket with his pinkie, while clinging to the buoy with his other hand. He was finally able to catch his breath.
Scary swimming incident lead Carlos Correa to God
Coincidentally (at least we think), this incident happened just two weeks before Carlos Correa was traded to the Astros. While the 2012 No. 1 overall draft pick didn't blame his near-death experience for why he demanded a trade, he did give it credit for why he's now closer to God.
While struggling to catch his breath that day, Correa made a promise to god, praying in the moment, "'I promise you that if you save me from this one, I will serve you and I will serve you forever.'" Since that day, he says he's living to pay off the promise he made to God that day.
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Apparently, he's started a weekly bible study that he hosts at his house in Houston every week. He also talks more openly about his faith in the Astros locker room, hoping to enlighted teammates in a way he hasn't before.
On the field, Carlos Correa is trying to bounce back from one of the least productive seasons of his career. Before he was traded by the Minnesota Twins last summer, Correa played 93 games, hitting .267 with 7 HR and a .704 OPS. In 51 games as an Astro, Correa raised his average to .290, hitting 6 HR with a .785 OPS.
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