Sano Sets Strikeout Record

The Star-Tribune's Phil Miller gets credit for this one. Following Miguel Sano's second strikeout of the game, and 1,000th of his MLB career, Miller tweeted: 

 So, not only did Sano break the record, he broke it by a huge margin. Again, that isn't going to surprise a lot of Twins fans.

It is also important to note that the above list of players includes some very productive baseball players who remained in the big leagues for a long time. There are a lot of home run champions on this list. There are a few MVP awards. 

It may surprise many Twins fans that Miguel Sano has the lowest strikeout rate of his career in 2021. 

2015: 35.5%
2016: 36.0%
2017: 35.8%
2018: 38.5%
2019: 36.2%
2020: 43.9%
2021: 34.5%

So yeah, it isn't the lowest rate by a big amount, but it is, in fact, the lowest. 

After a very slow start to his 2021 season, Sano has really come on. Since May 18, Sano has played in 97 games and hit .240/.313/.526 (.839) with 20 doubles and 26 home runs. 

Overall this season, Sano has played in a career-high 122 games and hit .221/.309/.476 (.786) with 20 doubles and 29 home runs. His OPS is 14% above average. 

In 660 career games since his MLB debut during the 2015 season (parts of 7 seasons), Sano has hit .237/.328/.493 (.821) with 119 doubles and 160 homers. His OPS over that period is 19% higher than average. 

Thirty years ago, this type of strikeout record would have been deemed a big deal in baseball. Strikeouts are no longer considered a terrible event for a hitter. That said, when Sano makes contact, a lot of good things happen, so I for one would certainly love to see him make more contact. 

How do you feel about Sano and this strikeout record? What does it mean, big picture (if anything)?