Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports
His offensive numbers may not shine and he may not have the best defensive prowess at catcher, but the backup Houston Astros‘ backstop Carlos Corporan has made his value known on the diamond as well as off of it.
Hitting .252 with seven home runs and 17 RBIs really aren’t terrible numbers. Combined with starting catcher Jason Castro, the Astros have the second-most home runs out of the catchers spot in all the majors. It’s one of the few offensive categories where you’ll find the Astros within the top ten.
Two plays stand out by Corporan, especially of late.
First, there is the home run off Texas Rangers‘ Yu Darvish in the eighth inning. It’s probably already well known, but it wasn’t just any home run, it was to break up Darvish’s second no-hit bid against the Astros.
Secondly is Corporan’s 11th-inning pinch-hit double against he Oakland Athletics to score Jose Altuve — a game that won the Astros their first back-to-back pair since late June. It also allowed the Astros to wear jeans on their road trip to Anaheim, a rule put in place by Bo Porter.
It’s the small things that count.
But Corporan has had the praise of his teammates throughout the year. His fellow Astros laud his coaching and baseball intelligence, and even Castro is quick to sing his fellow backstop’s praises. While his clutch plays of late are nice and huge morale boosters, it’s clearly his understanding of the game that gives value to the team.
Porter is another guy who cannot say enough of Corporan. Porter gives the catcher credit for a lot of Castro’s success this year.
Corporan has made it clear that he has managerial aspirations, and with the incredible list of references he seems to be accumulating, it should not be hard for him to find placement when he’s out of his playing days.
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