To this day, Miguel Sano hits the ball harder and further than most professional baseball players.
Sano, 32, spent parts of nine seasons in MLB as a third/first baseman, primarily with the Minnesota Twins. He last played in the big leagues in 2024 with the Los Angeles Angels.
He was never a great defender, and his approach at the plate included a lot of swing and miss.
Sano hit 25 or more homers four times in his career, including in 2019, when he connected for 34 dingers. The right-handed hitter signed a contract with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Chunichi Dragons this offseason.
However, he’s quickly learning that NPB is in a dead-ball era.
Sano’s moonshot never leaves the yard
The NPB season starts this week, and Sano looks prepared to have a monster season in the heart of the Dragons’ lineup. However, the Japanese league’s balls are dead. Simply, they aren’t traveling like they are supposed to.
とても悲しいよ私は pic.twitter.com/xTNqKXdNa0
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It looks like Sano thought he cleared the fence easily, starting his home run trot as he rounded first base. Sometimes, power hitters from the United States have a difficult time adjusting to NPB pitching and vice versa.
That may not be the case for Sano, but he’s not gonna find the seats as often as he would like if the ball keeps dying at the warning track.
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