Correa called Arraez for hitting tips. And he answered

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Even two years after Luis Arraez’s departure from the Twins, the former fan favorite is still a gift that keeps on giving.

Just ask Carlos Correa, who credited help from the Twins’ most recent batting title winner following the shortstop’s first career five-hit game back on June 12 -- which, in hindsight, makes sense given how much of an Arraez-esque performance it was, with three singles to center field, one to right field and another on an infield grounder.

“I have to call Arraez today,” Correa said after that game. “He gave me good pointers going into the season and I’ve been doing them. He’s the man. He knows what he’s doing. He’s one of my favorite hitters to watch.”

So, what was the secret, then?

When Correa called Arraez ahead of the season asking for tips, the broad message that Arraez sent his former teammate was relatively simple, and emblematic of the way in which Arraez has approached his own career.

“I just said, ‘Hey, you just need to hit the ball to the middle, right field. That’s it,’” Arraez said. “Hit it to the middle, bro. Don’t try to think too much.”

If Correa’s praise of Arraez’s help is any indication, that’s probably part of why Correa was hitting .308 -- his highest mark since 2017 -- before hitting the injured list on July 19 with the plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

“I miss him a lot,” Arraez said. “He’s one of my favorites. Carlos, he’s always talking about baseball. He invites everyone to his room. He just wants to talk about baseball. I just say to him, ‘Hey, hit the ball to the middle. Try to hit the ball to the middle, left field or right field. You’ve got power. If I’ve got your power, I just try to hit to the middle.’”

Arraez is more than happy to help because, even as he plays for his second team in his post-Twins era following the trade that sent him to Miami ahead of the ‘23 season in exchange for Pablo López, he still clearly feels affinity and affection for his first team.

He still texts “a lot” with Correa, Byron Buxton, Jose Miranda and Willi Castro, he said, and plays video games with Castro despite never having played on the Twins together. Because he now plays on the West Coast for the Padres, Arraez says he has a chance to watch some Twins games in passing.

“I cried a lot when they traded me,” Arraez said. “I never forgot Minnesota. I miss Minnesota. I still have an apartment there.”

Indeed, he never sold that apartment near the ballpark, and he even rented it to López last year before finding a non-baseball tenant this season. He still hasn’t been back to Minneapolis, but figures to return with the Padres next August -- and in the Twins’ clubhouse, there’s still appreciation for what Arraez meant to the club.

“He's just a very unique, special hitter,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “There's no one else in the league that does what he does. He's very good at what he does and it gives people a lot of enjoyment. … It's hard not to appreciate him as a hitter.”