Souhan: Bilingual stars Cruz, Correa have helped Twins blend cultures

Nelson Cruz acted as the Twins' leader from 2019 through 2021. Carlos Correa assumed that role in 2022.

Correa and Cruz have played in the World Series and become stars. Both are known for their work ethic, willingness to help teammates and the ease with which they represent their team, whether with fans or media.

Perhaps not coincidentally, they have one other attribute in common: Both are bilingual.

Cruz is from the Dominican Republic. Correa is from Puerto Rico. Both can communicate with everyone in their clubhouse, unlike most American teammates who speak only English.

The Twins' primary leaders for the past five seasons have thrived in that role in part because, in a game increasingly dominated by Latin Americans, they not only walk the walk, they talk the talk.

"I have a relationship with the Latins, and I've built one with the Americans, and it's beautiful," Correa said last Thursday afternoon. "Today, I'm going fishing with Caleb Thielbar. He's a bullpen guy who speaks only English, and I can hang out with him and have a great conversation.

"It's great to know both cultures and interact with everyone, and feel like part of a big family."

That morning, Cruz, now with the Padres, sat in a corner locker in the visiting clubhouse.

"It helps to be able to relate to both cultures," he said.

The Twins signed Cruz and Correa as free agents, then re-signed both, in part because of their personalities, and despite their connections to cheating scandals. Before joining the Twins, Cruz was suspended for 50 games for using performance enhancers; Correa was a member of the disgraced Astros championship team that stole signs.

Their alleged cheating damaged their reputations with some fans, but not within the game and within the Twins clubhouse. Byron Buxton has been the Twins' most talented player for years, but he has never seemed as comfortable as Correa is now in acting as the team spokesman.

"A player doesn't necessarily need to be bilingual to play that role," said Derek Falvey, the Twins' president of baseball operations. "I do think when you have guys like Nellie and Carlos, the fact that they can communicate with everyone in that room, it's helpful. It takes a special individual to play that role regardless of the language they speak.

"Forget about baseball. Communication skills are probably the most important skill that exists in terms of leadership. The ability to communicate, to know when to communicate, how to talk to the right people in the right way, is vital. For people like Nellie and Carlos, to be able to communicate with 100 percent of the room instead of 50 or 60 percent of the room is very helpful."

Kirby Puckett was the Twins' leader from the mid-80s through the spring of 1996. Paul Molitor became the Twins' leader through the end of his career. Torii Hunter became recognized as the Twins' team spokesman in the 2000s, although he always insisted he was not the team's leader.

In recent years, the Twins have filled many of their most important positions with Latin Americans. Currently, their top two relievers (Jhoan Duran and Jorge López), their highest-paid player (Correa) and their highest-paid pitcher (Pablo López) are Spanish speakers. From 2017 through the summer of 2021, José Berrios, of Puerto Rico, was the closest thing the Twins had to an ace. Last year, Luis Arraez of Venezuela was their best hitter, and his English skills improved dramatically over his last two years with the Twins.

For decades, it seemed that many Latin American players either didn't learn English, or didn't admit that they had. The language barrier allowed them to avoid interviews they didn't want to do.

In recent years, more Latin American players have seemed eager to learn and use the English language.

Falvey credited director of player education Amanda Daley for helping young Latin American players in the organization learn quickly. When the Twins upgraded their spring training facilities, which also house their Class A and rookie-league minor league teams, they built a beautiful classroom, along with dorm rooms and a cafeteria, to help Latin American players acclimate to the United States.

"All of this is a real credit to Amanda, who runs a lot of our Latin American education programs," Falvey said. "We really invested in that space. I know a lot of teams have done that but I'm really proud of our work.

"English speaking is one piece to this, but there's also all of the other life-skill training that we're doing."

Duran earned his GED and graduated at the Twins spring training facility. He is trending toward being a star. He's also a friendly guy who was willing to do interviews even before he had a command of the English language.

"His goal is to be a great pitcher, right?" Falvey said. "Now he also has the ability to think differently about life because of the education he has gotten. I think that helps him as a pitcher and as a human being. That's really cool."

Correa knew from a young age that he wanted to be a baseball star. "I started learning English when I was eight years old," he said. "My dad wanted me to learn, to help me when I got to the big leagues, so I'd be able to speak for myself."

Now he often speaks for an entire franchise.