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KEIZERTIMES.COM
First but not last
Firsts are important be-
cause they’re often the begin-
nings of lifelong endeavors.
I recently refl ected on some
of my fi shing fi rsts and how
they lead to more adventures.
The fi rst fi sh I ever caught
was a little rainbow trout.
My mom and dad had taken
me along to fl y fi sh Blowout
Creek that would soon emp-
ty into the yet fi lled
Detroit Lake.
I was four years
old and my mem-
ory is of the eve-
ning sun glaring
off the water and
the little fi sh wig-
gling as I lift-
ed him out
of the little
stream still
attached to
the fl y.
Clearly
no skill was
involved. My
dad, uncle and
a few of their
friends would take
a yearly camping trip on
opening trout fi shing week-
end each April to the Little
Deschutes River.
When I was eight I was
invited to go along on this
boys-only adventure. I caught
my fi rst brown trout on this
trip, a 16-incher using a night
crawler. So much for being
a fl y fi shing purist. My fi rst
salmon came two years later
on the Nestucca River.
My Uncle Buddy had tak-
en my cousin Teri and I to
try our luck catching coho
salmon casting lures from the
bank. I hooked
and landed a
10-pounder
that weekend
and I knew I
liked catching
big fi sh. The
fi rst steelhead
I caught was
during my
freshman
year
of
college on
the Kilchis
River near
Tillamook.
Thus fueled
my
passion
nearly out of
control but, I
approached this passion with
a bit of sanity and a thirst for
knowledge to become a bet-
ter fi sherman.
All fi sherman follow the
same path. First to catch lots
of fi sh, then big fi sh, then lots
of big fi sh, then fi nally hard-
to-catch fi sh. This is the jour-
ney I’ve followed. Fly fi shing
for salmon and steelhead is
less productive as a rule. Sum-
mer steelhead are more avail-
able to be caught fl y fi shing
than winter steelhead because
of warmer water tempera-
tures. I caught my fi rst one
on a fl y on the North San-
tiam. I now often skate a fl y
on the surface looking for a
real aggressive fi sh to attack
my offering. Less productive
but more fulfi lling.
I caught my fi rst winter
steelhead using a fl y on the
Nestucca River and often fi sh
for them this way in late win-
ter. In 2000, we made a long
trip to fl y fi sh for Chinook
and Coho on the west coast
of Vancouver Island. This
became an annual trip for
many years and lots of salm-
on were caught. There are still
some fi rsts on my bucket list.
Catching a winter steelhead
swinging a fl y is at the top of
the list. All these fi rsts have led
to my growth as a fi sherman.
Learning to improve my skills
after catching that fi rst one
ensures it won’t be the last.
Ebbs makes it offi cial with
the University of Kentucky
Submitted
After committing to the University of Kentucky to play softball in November 2019, McNary’s
Taylor Ebbs (middle) offi cially signed with the Wildcats on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Ebbs was the
2019 Mountain Valley Conference Player of the year after batting .628 with seven homers and
60 RBIs.
#9 Kevin Correia
TOP 20
20
Brad Rempel/USA Today Sports
Kevin Correia played for the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Minnesota Twins and
Philadelphia Phillies over his 13-year MLB career.
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
At #9 on the Keizertimes
list of the top 20 Volcanoes
players of all time is Kev-
in Correia, a right-hand-
ed pitcher from San Diego,
CA. who played in the big
leagues for 13 seasons.
After high school, Correia
attended Grossmont Junior
College, then transferred to
Cal Poly for his fi nal three
seasons of college ball. Cor-
reia’s 11 wins for Cal Poly
in 2002 is tied for fourth
all-time in a season at the
school.
Correia was drafted by
the San Francisco Giants
in the fourth round of the
2002 Major League Baseball
(MLB) Draft. He debuted
with the Volcanoes that sum-
mer and posted a 2-2 record
with a 4.54 ERA in 37.2 in-
nings. He was promoted to
Double-A the following sea-
son where he went 6-6 with
a 3.65 ERA in 14 starts.
Later on in the 2003 sea-
son, Correia was moved up
from Double-A to Triple-A
with the Fresno Grizzlies. In
three starts, he was 1-0 with
a 2.84 ERA and to go along
with his 23 strikeouts.
Because the Giants were
struggling with injuries and
depth in their pitching rota-
tion, Correia got his call to
the big leagues on July 10,
2003, making him the fi rst
player from the 2002 draft
class to reach the MLB.
Correia experienced im-
mediate success with the Gi-
ants, going 3-1 with a 3.66
ERA in 10 games — seven
of which were starts. But af-
ter struggling in spring train-
ing in 2004, Correia was sent
back down to Triple-A.
Correia split time be-
tween the Triple-A and the
big leagues during the 2004
and 2005 seasons before get-
ting the opportunity to play
his fi rst full MLB season in
2006. He was used exclu-
sively out of the bullpen and
posted a 2-0 record with a
3.49 ERA in 48 appearances.
After spending the fi rst
four months of the 2007 sea-
son in the bullpen, Correia
got moved up to the starting
rotation. In seven starts, Cor-
reia posted a 1.80 ERA over
40 innings.
However, his success as
a starter at the conclusion
of the 2007 season did not
translate to the following
year as Correia went 3-8
with a 6.05 ERA over 110
innings in 2008. The Giants
elected not to re-sign Cor-
reia at the end of the season,
making him a free agent.
Before the beginning of
the 2009 season, Correia
signed a minor league deal
with the San Diego Padres.
He made the opening day
roster, but struggled early in
the season as his ERA rose
above 5.00. However, when
San Diego pitching coach
Darren Balsley made tweaks
to Correia’s delivery, the
young righty started making
some signifi cant strides in his
development.
After injuries sidelined
the Padres two top starters
Jake Peavy and Chris Young,
Correia became the ace of
the staff. He fi nished the sea-
son with his fi rst winning
record (12-11), which led
the team, and had the lowest
ERA on the squad among
starting pitchers (3.91). He
also threw a career-high of
198 innings.
On Sept. 25 2009, Cor-
reia threw his fi rst com-
plete-game shutout against
the Arizona Diamondbacks,
giving up six hits and strik-
ing out seven. In the offsea-
son, Correia re-signed with
the Padres, a one-year, $3
million deal.
Early into the 2010 season,
Correia experienced im-
mense heartbreak when his
21-year old brother passed
away after a hiking accident
on May 8, 2010.
“I would quit baseball
right now to have him back.
Nothing will be able to
compare to that,” Correia
said about his brother in an
2010 interview.
Despite the grief he expe-
Volcanoes
players
of all time
rienced, Correia threw 145
innings and won 10 games,
but the Padres just missed
out on clinching the Na-
tional League (NL) West di-
vision title.
In 2011, Correia became a
free agent and inked a two-
year, $8 million deal with
the Pittsburgh Pirates. He
was announced as the team’s
opening day starter.
For the fi rst two months
of the season, Correia led all
of MLB in wins with eight.
The following month, he
was selected to his fi rst ever
all-star game after having 11
starts where he gave up two
earned runs or fewer. Cor-
reia ended the season with a
team-high in wins (12).
For the third time in his
career, Correia ended the
season with a 12-11 record
in 2012 — he also lowered
his ERA to 4.21.
On Aug. 19, 2012, Cor-
reia made history by mak-
ing a relief appearance in
the Pirates 6-3, 19 inning
marathon win against the St.
Louis Cardinals, then turn-
ing around the following
day and making the start for
Pittsburgh. It was the fi rst
time since 1981 that a Pirates
pitcher was tasked to pitch in
relief, then start the next day.
Correia signed with the
Minnesota Twins in 2013 as
a free agent, making it the
fi rst time he would be pitch-
ing in the American League
(AL). It was a $10 million
deal over two years.
Although it was a poor
season for the Twins, who
fi nished 30 games below
.500, Correia was able to
earn his spot as the ace of the
staff. At age 32, he was the
oldest starter on the Twins
roster, but he still led the
team in wins (9), starts (31)
and innings pitched (185.1).
In 2014, Correia fell to
#4 in the rotation as he saw
his ERA raise to 4.94. After
going 5-13, the Twins traded
Correia to the Los Angeles
Dodgers on Aug. 9, 2014. He
was primarily used in a bull-
pen role for the Dodgers for
the fi nal two months of the
season.
The 2015 season was Cor-
reia’s last in the big leagues as
he bounced between three
organizations in a short pe-
riod of time. Correia initially
signed with the Seattle Mar-
iners, but he was released
after he failed to make the
opening day roster.
Correia was then picked
up by the team that drafted
him, the Giants, but was only
in the organization for less
than two months after mak-
ing six appearances with the
Sacramento River Cats in
Triple-A.
On June 8, 2015, Correia
signed a deal with the Phil-
adelphia Phillies. He made
fi ve appearances with the
Phillies and posted a 6.56
ERA and an 0-3 record.
Correia was released on July
7, 2015.
Correia fi nished his career
with 76 MLB wins and a
4.62 ERA. He pitched a
total of 1428.2 innings and
struck out 906 batters.
In 2017, Correia was in-
ducted into the Cal Poly
Hall of Fame.