I meet Carlos Correa, the 6' 4", 215-pound, supremely athletic shortstop prodigy, shortly after his big day out at Yankee Stadium, the one where he smashed a 462-foot home run off the siding of the restaurant in centerfield. It was the 21-year-old's second of the day, and it's something he's made a habit of since his call-up to the Houston Astros last June. He hit more home runs in his first 50 (and now 100) games than any shortstop in Major League Baseball history. He won the American League Rookie of the Year Award last season after having played just 99 games.

There are early whispers of an MVP candidacy this season for Correa, along with comparisons to another ferociously strong, strikingly agile oversized shortstop, Alex Rodriguez. Like A-Rod, Correa was drafted first overall at the age of 17—a moment he seemed to be preparing for his entire life. Growing up in Puerto Rico, his parents sacrificed a great deal so he could play for progressively better—and more distant—youth teams. That's paid dividends on and off the field: Having grown up collecting baseball cards, Correa is now the face of Topps' MLB BUNT App, which allows fans to collect and trade digital cards in real time, right as the fireworks go off on the field.

Correa is also one of a number of young phenoms, like Bryce Harper, trying to lead baseball into a new era—one where players' devotion to a staid code of conduct gives way to showing emotion and personality on the field. Harper's "Make Baseball Fun Again" hat was a sort of opening salvo for a movement that fears baseball is falling behind basketball and football because of an unspoken code that the age of social media and Steph Curry has rendered an anachronism. Correa told me all about that—and, of course, about hitting home runs.

You went into the draft straight from high school in Puerto Rico. How did you prepare yourself for that?

My dad and I, and the coaches that I had back home—that I still have, my staff—when I'd go practice in the offseason, we'd work every single day, 7 days a week. Since I was five years old, I'd go to the ballpark every single day. So when I went pro, the transition wasn't as hard, because I'm used to being at the ballpark every single day. So when I got there, it was an easy transition, it was easy to adjust to it.

Jim McIsaac Getty Images

Your parents made a lot of sacrifices for your career back home. What does that mean to you now?

I'm a family guy. Family means everything to me. They sacrificed so much in order for me to get where I am today. I will always appreciate what they did for me, and I tell them that every single day. When I accomplish something I always say, "It's teamwork," because me and my family, my staff from back home has been with me me since I was 12 years old. So you know, it's always good to look back at the sacrifices they've made for me to get where I am today.

You were also class valedictorian at your high school.

Of course.

How did you balance that with baseball?

I couldn't go to the ballpark if I didn't finish my homework, if I wasn't done studying for a test. Because I loved baseball so much, I always took care of business in school, and then I would go take care of business at the ballpark.

Bob Levey Getty Images

After you were drafted, you had two seasons in the minors. In your second season, you fractured your fibula, which was a season-ending injury for you—

[He shows me his scar from the surgery and laughs.]

Sexy, huh?

It's already tough enough to dig your way out of the minors. How did you get the strength to move beyond that?

Mental toughness, man. When you know it's just a setback, and that everybody has to go through adversity to accomplish their dreams ... I knew it was a bump in the road. It was just going to slow me down, but it was not going to stop me. So I had the right attitude, and the right mental approach, in order for me to come back and play good baseball in Double-A, good baseball in Triple-A, and eventually, good baseball in the big leagues last year.

Rob Tringali Getty Images

You're traveling for 162 games a year. Do you have any travel tips? What keeps you sane on the road?

When we're on the plane, we put on the speakers and start dancing. After a win, we'll sing a lot on the plane. We'll get loud on the plane. We just try to have fun, make the best out of it, because obviously we travel a lot, and being on an airplane is obviously boring. We don't have to have seatbelts like on a commercial flight, so we just make the best out of it and always have fun.

You've spoken a lot recently about trying to make baseball fun again.

Yeah, you see the NBA and NFL are so popular because the players are able to show their personalities out there. You see LeBron, you see Curry wearing different shoes almost every game. In baseball, you can only wear black and white shoes or the team colors. It's not as exciting when you go to the ballpark and you see the same thing over and over. People hitting a home run and jogging around the bases like nothing happened.

You've got to be able to show your emotions, to show your personality. Curry hits a three to tie the game, he does a shimmy. In football, some of them Dab, they dance. In baseball, fans don't see anything from the players. It's just: play the game, get to the dugout, celebrate with your teammates. The fans want to be involved, they want to see more fun on the field. I feel like that's what's going to take baseball to the next level.

Scott Halleran Getty Images

Do you think you're limited by the code of conduct that's existed in baseball for so long?

It's not about hitting a home run, bat flipping, staring at the pitcher and walking down to first. It's: hit a home run, maybe flip the bat, jog around the bases, show excitement. Handshakes with your teammates. You're not disrespecting anybody, but you're making the game more fun. The fans are going to see that, the fans love that. It's a new generation.

Bob Levey Getty Images

You won AL Rookie of the Year last year. When you were coming into your first Major League season, did you have that as a goal?

When I first got there, I thought I wouldn't get the at-bats to compete. But eventually the guys working with me in the As, they told me I'd have a shot—I'd get the at-bats. So I set that as a goal, and I told my staff every single time that I wanted to win Rookie of the Year, because you can only win that once in a lifetime.

What do you think you can do to build on it this year? What part of your game do you want to step up?

Scott Halleran Getty Images

I could steal more bases. I wasn't feeling 100 percent with my ankle last year, but this year I'm feeling great. I could play better defense. And I could hit for more power and a better average—so I'm pretty much working on everything.

How does it feel to be the face of TOPPs' BUNT app?

It means a lot to be on the cover of the BUNT app. You grow up collecting baseball cards, and eventually you're on the cover of an app. It's really special. Now you can collect, trade, and play all on the app, which is in the Apple App Store and Google Play. Fans can collect and trade baseball cards right as things happen in the game. Right as I hit a home run, they can trade my card.

What are your hopes for the team this season?

Win. That's the bottom line. We're going to win.

What's the ceiling?

Win. Win means win—championships. That's what we want to do. That's the mentality every guy has in the clubhouse. Everybody wants it. They have the desire to bring a first championship to the city of Houston, and I feel that with the team we have, we can accomplish that.

Jack Holmes Politics Editor Jack Holmes is the Politics Editor at Esquire, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P Pierce.

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