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First and foremost, it’s worth noting that Sano missed a significant portion of Summer Camp due to a positive COVID-19 test. In an already truncated ramp up, the Twins new first basemen got a muted opportunity to prepare. On top of getting ready at the plate, he was also fine tuning his skills and footwork for a new role. Those could all be classified as excuses, but let’s not negate that the Dominican slugger was behind the eight ball. Fast forward to where we are today. Sano has played in 15 games for the Twins and has 56 plate appearances. He’s posted a .137/.214/.412 slash line and owns a 26/5 K/BB ratio. His 46.4% strikeout rate is 10% north of his career average, and the 8.9% walk rate is down nearly 4% from where he was a year ago. Of the seven balls he’s put in play, only one has been a single, with four leaving the yard (I’ll spoil the fun, the other two aren’t triples.) Now that we’ve got the bad out of the way, let’s go under the hood. Eno Sarris recently wrote about offense being down across the board at The Athletic. He noted that batters are taking more pitches, likely in an effort to see the ball and work on timing. Swing rates are down early in the count, and guys are trying to lengthen at bats. As Twins Daily’s own Matthew Taylor points out, pitchers have benefitted from this situation in converting substantially more looking strikes and strikeouts. For Sano specifically, this is wildly apparent in how he’s being attacked. Last season Miguel got first pitch strikes 56% of the time. That number is all the way up to 71.4% in 2020. In 40 of his 56 plate appearances he’s seen two strikes, and he’s been ahead in the count just 24 times. His hard-hit percentage is a career best 56% and he’s actually generated a career best 95.6 mph average exit velocity. Pitchers know this information too and are exploiting it. Right now, Miguel Sano is season more early strikes because pitchers don’t want him to settle in. He’s taking pitches early and has a career low 42.9% swing rate. He’s chasing less than he ever has, but the contact rate is 6% below his career average and the 18% whiff rate is 2% above 2019. Instead of dictating at bats, he’s needing to respond to the scenario he’s been presented. In short, it’s a long game. His goal is likely early season timing for a tradeoff that hopefully results in late season production. One other facet that’s currently coming into play, but also relates to his timing and patience, is the resulting launch angle. Sano has a 52% fly ball rate in 2020 and is converting 30% of those into homers. Where there’s a slight issue is that the 10% increase in fly balls from 2019 has dropped the line drive rate down to a career low 12%. He’s still not putting the ball on the ground, which is good, but too many of his fly balls right now are unproductive. Last season when he pulverized the baseball Sano owned a 15.9-degree average launch angle. In 2020 it’s an ugly 27.6 degrees. When he previously dropped the line drive rate to 18% in 2018, it coincided with a ground ball rate of 43.8% (a career high). His launch angle in that season swung negative the other way, down to 12.6 degrees. The sweet spot for a player hitting the ball out of the park is something in that 14-17-degree range. By making hard contact with the barrel at that trajectory, you’ll create the most ideal scenario on batted ball events. Once again, a microcosm of timing, it can likely be surmised that Sano’s pop up problem comes from both being reactionary and getting settled into the season. It’s not that he’s swinging with an upper cut or intending to be under the ball as much as it is the bat path through the zone and it lagging behind an optimal connection point with the pitch. Right now, there should be no reason for concern. Sure, we’re one game shy of having completed 33% of the 2020 season, but everyone was aware this would be an extremely small sample size. When the dust settles on the regular season the goal for Miguel Sano, and all Minnesota Twins hitters, is that they’ve found their groove making them capable of being the lineup most feared by opposing pitchers in the Postseason. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email

Similar to Britt Ghiroli before her, Waldon contributes to The Athletic. While Ghiroli works the Nationals beat, Waldon is called upon for prospect and Tigers related content. She’s a prospect guru, knowing the entire farm as well as the national landscape, and she’s become a voice for the under-represented minor leaguers across the sport. Emily has long been putting her stamp on the game of baseball and has put out quality coverage for the last handful of years. It was on March 15, 2019 that things exploded however, and all behind the headline reading, “I can’t afford to play this game.” Her status has since exploded, and she’s only continued to raise the bar. Paving a Path Part 1: Britt Ghiroli Paving a Path Part 2: Melanie Newman Paving a Path Part 3: Rachel Luba Extremely busy, I was grateful for the opportunity to grab a quick conversation with her: Twins Daily: A Michigan girl turns professional Detroit writer. Was that always the goal? Was it always baseball? Was the hope always the Tigers. What does your path into the sport look like? Emily Waldon: My path would be considered highly unorthodox in comparison to the way most people get into journalism or player evaluation. I didn’t have the internships or the college degree, and it wasn’t until I realized what I was really passionate about that I wondered if I could make my writing into anything. I had always been a writer because I was extremely shy as a kid. It was an outlet for me to express what I was thinking and feeling. My step into baseball was a fairly simple one. I had grown up in a baseball family, and it was a game I knew well. The thought of being able to spend more time around it made it a pretty simple decision. TD: There's very few national writers that know a system as well as you do. While covering prospects is something you broke in doing, and scouting is part of your background, the Major League club is equally as much in the wheelhouse. Was it a conscious decision to be so knowledgeable across an entire organization? EW: It’s funny, I never had any aspirations to cover Minor League Baseball or prospects. My first year was 2015 and that was not a year where the Tigers farm system was anything remotely close to being worth discussing. It ranked among the bottom in the whole league, and there weren’t any major names to think of. When I started covering Single-A West Michigan people wondered who I was and why I was doing it, and on top of it I was a woman in this odd role. It was somewhat of divine timing as I jumped into prospect coverage a touch before a lot of people did. Not only was I in a niche part of the industry, but here comes this girl that knew baseball but was learning the ins and outs of journalism on the fly. I realized while covering the Midwest League, and being a workaholic when it comes to passions, I need to cover the Tigers from top to bottom. That led to my networking skills pushing me all over the system. I got to know the staff, scouts, players, and families. I was always around in some capacity and being exposed into the minor league scene it eventually transitioned into me doing national coverage. TD: Seeing you take on projects outside of the Tigers organization, it's clear your creativity is only limited by the subject matter. How much time do you put into preparing for a national story? What highlights your creative process? EW: I think this really comes down to utilizing my contacts and network. My goal when I travel is to always try and make some sort of new connection. I want to get my name out there and have people know what I’m about. My reputation and integrity are the driving forces behind what I do. I want people to know above all else, I will follow through. I don’t want people to see me as a girl in baseball. I want people to know me for my work, and nothing more. Say for example I want to write up a story about Royce Lewis, I can utilize my connections to find out who I need to know. Is that coaches, scouts, front office people, whoever it is I want to get the fullest perspective so I can bring the player to the most attainable viewpoint for fans reading my work. TD: It's not unexpected that you'd have ties with so many minor leaguers given your prospect background. Was the goal always to act as an advocate? When did you see your platform could be useful for more, and why did you decide that providing a voice was necessary? EW: I think it really became a thing in 2017, my third year, as I had been deeply immersed in that lifestyle (MiLB) and thought, “there is so much here that’s not being talked about.” I know there had been people before me writing about certain topics, but the national attention hadn’t been there yet. When the “I can’t afford to play this game” piece dropped in 2019 I was flying to Arizona for Spring Training and remember being terrified. I thought, “what did I just do? Is the league going to blacklist me?” Then I realized that I brought facts to the surface, and the hope was fans would understand everything these players endure and how hard they work to get to the majors off the field as well. TD: Women are far less represented in baseball than men. How do you go about not letting that impact the work you do, and does it fuel an additional emphasis to pave a path for others? EW: I think any time, in any industry, that you’re in a minority there’s an opportunity for you to make an impact. It’s up to you whether that impact is positive or negative. I think there’s been opportunity to reflect on how many women were just like me in that they really love baseball, but the industry skews towards it being abnormal. The idea that women don’t really do this, why would I do it? That creates plenty of second guessing, especially for those looking to break into the game. When I share my experiences with other young women I say, “nobody gets to derail you but you, you’re the only person that gets to call the shots about your pursuits.” I’m so thankful to have been raised by parents that never told me I couldn’t do something because I am a woman, but instead instilled that integrity and application in my work would allow me to do whatever I wanted. It’s been cool to see other young ladies make pursuits of their own and share their stories with me. My hope is other girls will have the courage to do the same. TD: What about The Athletic helps to set your work apart? It has quickly grown into a sports juggernaut, and some of the most powerful female voices in sports call it home. What about the outlet aligned with where you wanted to be professionally? EW: My favorite thing about The Athletic is they cultivate creativity when it comes to sports writing and they don’t require you to do cookie-cutter type work. Being somewhat of an outlier with my unique background, The Athletic gave me a voice to be not only a woman in baseball, but also one that covers prospects and does player evaluation. It’s such an empowering feeling, and it allows me to pitch ideas and come up with creative ways to approach stories. Having an editor in Emma Span, who is a legend in her own right, she is someone that has always spoken life into my career. Those are the types of voices I hope I can become one of for the next generation. Having someone like Emma in my corner has really inspired me to keep going. TD: While baseball was shelved and we struggled with the relationship provided to us by the sport, what did you do to keep busy? Any go to hobbies away from the game that provided a good reset? EW: It definitely was a challenge, and I think everyone has been challenged with finding their own outlets throughout 2020. For me personally, fitness was the biggest thing. I got back into running every day and fine tuning some of my eating habits. Getting back into that workout routine helped to keep my head clear just because there’s so many thoughts about what’s going to happen next. Focusing on mental health is such an important factor. I know firsthand what that battle with anxiety can feel like, and my hope is that while I’m trying to inspire others through baseball, if you struggle with anxiety or depression I want to listen and encourage there as well. Knowing that you’re never alone is a big thing, other people can always relate. Follow Emily and check out her work here. Thank you for reading through this Women in Baseball series, hope you enjoyed it! MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email

Women remain underrepresented across the sport, but there’s more than a few that have made their mark on the game, and it’s through their abilities we can see a necessary need for greater inclusion. Wanting to gain perspective from individuals in multiple different roles, I sought out to tell stories from the clubhouse, broadcast booth, and the farm. Talent doesn’t recognize gender, status, ideology, or any other form of societal discrimination. When it comes to Major League Baseball, plenty of females have created synonymous personalities with what we’ve come to expect from an overall experience. Sony made Heidi Watney its go-to presence on MLB The Show. Alexa Datt and Kelly Nash are staples at MLB Network. For Twins fans it’s the duo of Audra Martin and Marney Gellner that are routinely invited into our living rooms. The talent is rich, and it runs deep. Highlighting that and kicking off this four-part series is none other than The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli. An impressive resume and immediate tie to Baltimore precede her, but coming off a World Series year of coverage the Nationals writer has plenty of stories to tell. Twins Daily: Was it always baseball for you? Graduating from Michigan State, did you know right away that this was the sport you wanted to cover? What role did the game of baseball have in your life prior to your career? Britt Ghiroli: I get asked a lot if baseball is my favorite sport and – to be honest – it wasn’t at the time. I would stay up late at night watching hockey or football with my dad, and European soccer on the weekend mornings. But I fell in love with the stories and the nature of covering baseball, there’s so many nuances and so much access compared to football or basketball, that I’ve never regretted that decision. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been a baseball fan and I’m from a big baseball/softball family and we all did the travel teams – my sister played at the University of Pittsburgh – but this job enhanced my appreciation of it. It was sheer luck that the internship I got was with MLB.com and I’m eternally grateful they picked me. I was an athlete my entire life, all the way up through college where I was a swimmer at Michigan State. Once I got there I realized two things: 1) I wasn’t nearly as good of a swimmer as I thought and 2) I better have a plan for my life because women’s swimming isn’t a sport with a future to pay your bills. Michigan State has an excellent journalism program and that’s what I always wanted to do – write. I used to write little stories growing up and have always been a pretty big reader and fan of long-form writers like Gary Smith. Plus, I’m abysmal at math. While swimming, I juggled a few internships which got increasingly harder with classes, but the experience was critical. At first, I thought TV was the way I wanted to go and I did work as a PA (production assistant) for Fox Sports Network in Detroit, which started as an internship and continued as a freelance gig. I also helped out the Big Ten Network when they’d come to town for a big game. I kept writing when I could and worked part time at the Lansing State Journal. It was a lot of grunt work, taking phone calls and filling in tiny box scores about high school games for that day’s paper, but I was also afforded the opportunity to pitch the occasional feature. That, and several other internships helped lead to MLB.com. Obviously, the MLB.com internship was the one that led me to covering baseball full-time and never leave :-) TD: Spending a decade with MLB.com you got to show off your abilities covering multiple beats. Establishing yourself with the Orioles, you quickly became one of the household names when it comes to bylines. What about covering daily action do you do to differentiate yourself? BG: Got on Twitter! Seriously, it was just starting when I got on the beat and I quickly embraced it. I still remember the other beat guys making fun of me for it but it really helped me build up a big network. A lot of those fans, of course, are Orioles fan who now really don’t like that I went to the Nationals... TD: As a female you represent a group that's not nearly proportionate in terms of voices within the industry. Is that a driving force to you? Is there something about the way you do your job that you feel like an additional impact can be made? BG: I don’t think it’s ever been a driving force. I wasn’t raised in a household where sports were for boys- my dad had four daughters and we were all tomboys. My mom is also a big sports fan. I never thought, “I should be a sports writer and try to bring a female voice in!” I just thought it was the coolest job in the world. Most days, I still do. I will say, there are a lot more females now than when I got into this in 2008. I understand it’s what sets me apart a lot, but I spent years trying to shake the stereotype that I was someone’s token female hire, you know? It’s always irked me when I had a close relationship to a guy or got a scoop that some people will always equate it with my gender. I’ve sort of just realized that no matter what I do, good or bad, I’m going to stand out. I always tell young female reporters that any advantage you have it cancelled out. Some people are going to be nicer to you and want to talk to you because you’re female. And some guys aren’t going to be nice or want to talk to you for that very same reason. A lot of the bull**** I thought that came with being a female - what you wear, for example - I thought would go away in my 30s. It hasn’t, but I do care a lot less what someone thinks. If it’s 100 degrees and humid, I’m wearing a tank top and it’s not to flaunt myself or hit on a guy. It’s because it’s 100 degrees and humid. As for additional impact, I look to women like Alyson Footer and Susan Slusser, who have made space for ME. I’d love to get to a point where I do an entire interview and my gender never comes up. TD: While being a beat reporter is essentially a version of storytelling, what about your creative process has made such compelling pieces each time you hit the keyboard? BG: That’s nice of you to say! I’ve been fortunate to have some really great mentors. The best part about being at The Athletic, and I’ll get into that more later, is the freedom you get to really go beyond the nuts and bolts of a baseball story. I was told once your lede should be the first thing you go home and tell your mom, or husband or friend about the person. What is it about that player or moment or game that everyone needs to know? Now, how can you make them care about it? That’s what I try to do. Fans now already know so much. They know the score and the stats. They may have even watched the post-game interviews. To be different, you have to add color and humanize things. You have to go beyond the “how did you feel out there?” questions, and that’s what I try to do. TD: Moving from worst to first in a sense, what was the experience (and rollercoaster) of covering the 2019 Washington Nationals like first hand? It's not your first World Series, but it might have been the most improbable. BG: It was pretty crazy. I remember a lot of people early on sort of joking, “You should have stayed in Baltimore!” because of the Nats early record. The 2008 Rays, which I wrote about recently may have been a little more of an underdog story (though they lost the World Series) but the turnaround in D.C. was truly made-for-the-movies stuff. I remember laughing the day they got Parra, we were in Milwaukee and I joked to my editor to print the World Series tickets. But, truly, you could have. He was such a positive infusion for that team. People love to say clubhouse chemistry is overrated because they can’t see it or come up with a metric for it. But that team needed Parra. They were always talented. They just needed to start to believe they could turn it around. I’m not sure it hit me, like really hit me, until they started to come back in Game 7 in Houston. Up to that point, you kept thinking they were on the ropes and eventually going to lose. But that game, I remember being like, ‘My god, they are gong to rally.” It was unbelievable. TD: Being at The Athletic now, what makes the newest outlet in the game arguably one of the best. It was a meteoric rise for the company, and it's more than just the top tier talent they've brought in. BG: They let you be an adult. People will often ask me about switching teams and, for me, it was never about the Orioles versus the Nationals. It was the chance to get out of my box. I’ve written about powerlifting, grief, memories on the beat, sexism, being yelled at, retirement and mental health. I’ve done Ravens stories and Bruins stories. I’ve never once had someone tell me, “No, you cover the Nationals.” They encourage you to think about different story ideas (especially now!) and they aren’t afraid to take big swings. The Athletic could go under tomorrow and I still wouldn’t regret taking the job. It was scary to leave MLB, it’s a great job and I still have a lot of friends there, but I needed to sort of be pushed out of the nest. To be pushed out of my comfort zone. And that’s exactly what The Athletic has done. TD: We're all worse off being without baseball right now, and the hope is we'll have something resembling a season soon. What have you been doing to keep yourself busy? BG: I am currently trying to plan Take 2 of my wedding. (Our original day was in May and cancelled). So, that’s been interesting to plan from another state. I wake up every morning and read all about two things: baseball updates and the COVID cases in Colorado. (We live in Maryland.) My fiance and I met at the gym so we are very active people. He was a kicker in football and has taken that back up. He’ll knock them out from 50 yards and I’m just trying to make an easy extra point attempt. Work-wise, I’m still writing, it just looks a little different. I recently started a series about each year I’ve been on the beat which has been a lot of fun to do look back and reminisce. It’s easy to fall into the negative trap right now with baseball, so that’s been a nice reminder that this sport is pretty great and matters to a lot of people. Follow Britt and check out her work here. Check back in next week for entry number two in this four-part series. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email