FORT MYERS, FLA. – Carlos Correa has only been at spring training with the Twins for five days, but he hasn't been easing into finding his new place on the team.
In his introductory news conference, he preached perfection, especially in practice. And he's made sure those weren't just empty words. Even in the infield drills ahead of Sunday's game, Correa seemed to raise the standard.
"It was a beautiful infield. It was clean. It was high-paced, game-like," Correa said. "You're going to see that more often from us."
Part of that might have stemmed from some off-field bonding for the infielders and Latino players this past week. The shortstop took his new teammates to a Puerto Rican restaurant called Gandules Grill. And he has more dinners planned with other players soon.
"It was actually a pretty interesting conversation because they showed me they truly want to win, and they're going to do whatever it takes to get there," Correa said of the first dinner. "… They talk about winning and the winning atmosphere and what that feels like, that mentality. I try to describe it as best as I can since I've seen it. I tell them, it starts with practice and how we take practice."
Second baseman Jorge Polanco came away from Sunday's first game alongside Correa impressed. And the feeling has been the same in practices and off the field.
"He mentioned that if we can take infields like that, we're going to be the best defensive team in the league," Polanco said. "And we believe that. The intensity was good."
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