Immigrant of the Day: Miguel Sanó

Miguel Sanó is the heavy hitting third baseman for the Minnesota Twins – my local team. (Yes, at five hours and another state away, they’re still local. You can buy Twins gear at our Target. ‘nuf said.)

Dominican-born Sanó is featured on B/R today in an in-depth and very sweet story about Sanó’s struggles in the big leagues.

It was hard for Sanó just to get to the United States. Amateur players must be 16 before they can come to the U.S., and there were allegations that Sanó wasn’t old enough. After an official investigation that included bone-density and DNA testing, the Twins were allowed to bring Sanó stateside as an amateur free agent. That was in 2009.

There’s a documentary you can watch about this period of Sanó’s life. It’s called Ballplayer: Pelotero.

Sanó made it to the states, but he didn’t escape hardship. In 2014, Sanó’s first child, a daughter named Angelica, died just a week after her birth. Sanó struggled with suicidal thoughts following her death.

In 2015, Sanó went pro. His first season was a smashing success, but 2016 was less so as Sanó struggled emotionally and physically.

Sanó is now back on track. Last month, he was named an All-Star and competed in his first Home Run Derby, finishing second. Sanó has also welcomed a second child, a son, who is now 10 months old.

Here is Sanó’s walk out music. It’s a Reggaeton track by Ceky Viciny called “Klok Con Klok.”

-KitJ