Stroke survivor Corrigan among scouts honored

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Before he presented Larry Corrigan with an award at the Scout of the Year reception Wednesday night, Twins general manager Thad Levine took a moment to address the audience.

“I truly believe as an industry that we’re always chasing the next competitive advantage,” Levine said. “I’ve always believed that the competitive advantage is the people in this room. It’s the scouts. You people are the lifeblood of this game.”

Scouts were celebrated at the 33rd annual event, a staple of the Winter Meetings. Corrigan (Twins) was the Midwest Scout of the Year. Other honorees were Ed Creech (East Coast) of the Giants, Pablo Cruz (International) of the Blue Jays and Rick Schroeder (West Coast) of the Rangers.

The award was especially significant for Corrigan, 66, who’s recovering from a stroke suffered in May. He thanked several friends in the crowd who have assisted with his recovery.

A Minor League pitcher and catcher, Corrigan was a college coach (head coach at Iowa State, assistant at Cal State Fullerton) before breaking into scouting with the Athletics in 1987. He went to the Twins in 1988 and swiftly rose in the organization, becoming a crosschecker and then scouting director for the 1992 and 1993 Drafts. He served Minnesota in a variety of scouting roles, including as a special assistant to the GM from 1999-2007, before taking the same job with the Pirates, spending two years as a special assignment scout with the Angels and then returning to the Twins in that capacity in 2013.

Corrigan is best known for drafting Torii Hunter with the 20th overall pick in the 1993 Draft. The five-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glover said Corrigan was instrumental in his career.

“He’s a guy that taught me to throw,” Hunter told MLB.com in 2012. “He taught …

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