ANAHEIM, CALIF. – Carlos Correa's heart was happy after Saturday's game against the Angels.
Not because the Twins dropped 5-3 in a walkoff. That he actually called haunting. It was really seeing his sister Leibysand have a dream-come-true 14th birthday that lifted the shortstop's spirits.
In a game of disappointing moments for the Twins, Correa's baby sister had exactly the outcome for which she'd hoped. Not only did she meet her favorite player — Angels pitcher-hitter Shohei Ohtani — before the game to take a picture with him and have him sign her No. 17 jersey, she also watched the Japanese phenom smack a home run to help his team come back from a 3-0 deficit.
Her brother also hit a home run — in his first at-bat, in fact — and made it to base five times. But Correa was very much a side character in Shotime's show.
"For the past three years, she watches all his starts. She watches pretty much every game, all his highlights," Correa said. "… It was a perfect day for her. I'm sure she will remember this one for a long time, and I'm very appreciative of Ohtani taking his time to take a picture with her because I know how busy he is, and I know everyone wants a piece of Ohtani. He's the biggest superstar in this sport.
"So for him to go out of this way and give her a couple minutes of his time, to me, that means the world."
Correa said his sister, whom the family calls "Leiby," is a big fan of Asian culture, including K-pop boy band BTS. She even makes her eldest brother sing karaoke songs from the genre with her when he's home. When Ohtani broke into the league, she fell in love, per Correa, and is now "obsessed." But Correa's OK with it, since he considers 28-year-old Ohtani a great role model.
He's inspired her to start learning Chinese and Japanese, the latter of which she used to speak to Ohtani a bit in his own language. Correa doesn't know what she said but recalled Ohtani nodding in understanding.
