Happy birthday to Twins top prospect Miguel Sano, who turned 19 years old today and is hitting .303 with 10 homers, 20 walks, and a 1.072 OPS in 33 games at low Single-A.
One of those homers was a game-winner last week against the Angels’ affiliate in the Midwest League and the benches cleared because, as Cedar Rapids manager Jamie Burke put it: “I think he kind of pimped that home run a little bit.”
Here’s more from Jeff Johnson of the Cedar Rapids Gazette:
Sano stood in the batter’s box awhile to watch his homer against relief pitcher Carmine Giardiana. He trotted the bases, but virtually stopped a few feet before touching the plate, taking off his batting helmet as Kernels catcher Abel Baker barked at him.
Sano glared at the Kernels dugout after finally touching the plate, with Kernels players continuing to give him significant grief. He took a step toward Baker, and the dugouts began to empty, with umpires Fernando Rodriguez and Paul Clemons, as well as both teams’ coaching staffs, doing a good job of squelching what could have been an ugly scene.
Also worth noting is that being annoyed by Sano’s actions following the homer didn’t stop Burke from effusively praising him as a player:
He’s young, but he’s one heck of a player, man. He’s unbelievable. That’s the best player I’ve seen here, by far.
Twins fans may remember Burke as the White Sox catcher who got destroyed by Torii Hunter in a home plate collision back in 2004.
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