Prime-time debut

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This article was published 07/05/2019 (2656 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Correlle Prime’s pre-game meals this season will look much different than the one’s he had last year.

Prime, one of the newest members of the Winnipeg Goldeyes, played for the Texas AirHogs last season. It was the first year of three-year agreement between the AirHogs and the Chinese national team.

The Bradenton, Fla., native, who primarily plays first base, found himself on a team with 30 Chinese national team players on the roster. The AirHogs would activate 13 of the Chinese players on game days.

The agreement was made as a way to develop the Chinese players in hopes of getting the national team to a level where they could compete against more traditional baseball countries in the Pacific Rim such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

The program (experiment might be more fitting) is sponsored by the Chinese Baseball Association and Shougang Sports. To make the players feel more comfortable, the program’s sponsors flew in some chefs to the team’s home in Grand Prairie, Texas, to cook them authentic Chinese food.

“I definitely crushed the authentic fried rice,” said Prime, 25, who added the menu would also feature some interesting things such as octopus. “You can’t beat that.”

You might not have been able to beat their stellar fried rice, but opposing teams had no problem beating the AirHogs.

Texas finished last in the American Association with a 25-75 record. Prime joined the AirHogs after being released from the Texas Rangers organization, where he was playing for their double-A affiliate in Frisco, a 30-minute drive from Grand Prairie.

Due to the proximity, Prime signed on with the AirHogs to make his independent baseball debut. Although the team’s main focus was improving the Chinese talent as opposed to winning ball games, Prime said it was still an enjoyable experience.

“That part wasn’t a big deal because that’s something we’ve gone through as minor leaguers our whole careers. Let’s develop, let’s get better and the wins will come,” Prime said after Tuesday’s training session at Shaw Park.

“I’m sure when we see Texas here in a couple weeks, they’ll be vastly improved. Their development is going to be better and that’s all you can ask for as a player and I’m sure as a manager as well. It wasn’t hard, it wasn’t hard at all.”

Prime played 79 games for the AirHogs, hitting .279 with seven home runs and 42 RBIs.

In early December, the AirHogs traded Prime to the Can-Am League’s Rockland Boulders. A week later, Rockland traded him to Winnipeg in exchange for outfielder Grant Heyman.

Prime, a 12th-round draft pick by the Colorado Rockies in 2012, has been on the Goldeyes’ radar for a while.

Goldeyes manager Rick Forney told Prime to make him his first call if he got released from affiliated ball. It didn’t work out last season, but both parties are sure glad it did this year.

“I’m grateful to have the opportunity to be here, to kind of find myself again,” said Prime, who spent an extra hour after Tuesday’s practice working on his swing with Goldeyes hitting coach Tom Vaeth.

“It’s pretty cool. I’m like ‘man, I kind of feel like it’s home.’ I’m working on things that I know I should be working on that are going to help me as a player that other coaches maybe didn’t see or have a chance to throw out to me. It’s all about opportunity.”

Vaeth speaks very highly of Prime, who is one of 18 new faces at training camp this week.

“Well, from a playing standpoint, he’s got a lot of talent,” said Vaeth, who’s entering his 17th season with the Goldeyes.

“He’s very good defensively around the bag at first base. He gives you a good at-bat. He’s got some power, he’s got some tools, he can swing the bat a little bit. But the thing I’m liking about him so far and what I’m expecting this year is he’s going to be a good leader in the clubhouse. You’re not going to find many nicer guys than him. Just the way he handles himself, carries himself and the positivity he carries to the clubhouse every day. I think it’s going to be beneficial to us.”

Prime, who stands at 6-5, is a career .266 hitter in his eight professional seasons, with 63 home runs and 336 RBI’s in 676 games. But Prime hopes he can bring more to the team than just being another solid bat in the lineup. He hopes some big league teams take notice, too.

“These guys will hopefully enjoy playing with me and just being around me as a person. Like I said, at this point in my life, I’m just enjoying these opportunities and taking each day as it comes,” Prime said.

“I’m just staying in the moment and right now, the moment is pretty cool. This isn’t the end goal. The goal is to be a big league player. So, I’m going to come and be a professional every day and strive towards that goal every day.”

Prime will step on the field as a member of the Goldeyes for the first time tonight as the Fish begin their seven-game pre-season.

The Goldeyes take on the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks at Shaw Park with first pitch set for 6:05 p.m.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31