Sano settled at third and off to first All-Star Game

Given the green light to let his bat fly with a 3-0 count in the third inning of a game last month, Miguel Sano drove an inside fastball into the second deck above right-center field.

The announced estimate of 414 feet didn’t quite do that home run justice. Going that deep with an opposite-field swing was a feat of physical prowess that few players other than Minnesota’s massive third baseman could pull off.

“Nothing is difficult in life if you’re positive,” Sano said. “In your mind, you can do whatever you want. When you stay positive, everything is good.”

Attitude is helpful. Fortitude, too.

“He’s someone at the plate you’re very mindful of every time he comes there, because you know something can happen,” said Chicago White Sox manager Rick Renteria, whose team was the witness to that homer the Twins were still talking about in the clubhouse the next morning.

Sano had a greater goal on his mind, though, with the Twins unexpectedly in the thick of the American League Central race.

“He whispers and he’s like, ‘Playoffs. Playoffs,”’ second baseman Brian Dozier said. “A couple of years ago, he probably wouldn’t have said it. His body has changed and everything. He kind of gets it now.”

As with his weight, which has been around 270 pounds for much of his major league career, the 6-foot-4 Sano must also make sure to keep that stout swing under control to stay on a thriving path.

Major League Baseball’s postmodern embrace of science and data has paved the way for the Statcast tracking system and with it another set of leaderboards measuring the strongest sluggers, fastest runners and the hardest throwers to rival the traditional races for most home runs, stolen bases and strikeouts.

Sano, entering the weekend, trailed only New York Yankees rookie sensation Aaron Judge (97.3 mph) with an average exit velocity of 95.2 mph . The eye tests that have long concluded Sano consistently crushes the ball can now be proven with facts.