Jose Miranda's hitting turnaround is a testament to patience

Jose Miranda looked at his phone before leaving the clubhouse at Target Field after producing the biggest moment of his professional baseball career on Wednesday afternoon.

"I know he's going to call," the Twins rookie infielder said.

Miranda's father calls from Puerto Rico after every game. His dad, also named Jose, taught his son how to hit as a youngster and worked him on his swing mechanics tirelessly over the years.

"Literally every day we'd hit since I was little," Miranda said. "Backyard, fields, cages, everywhere."

When his major league career got off to a rough start this season, Miranda chatted with his dad daily after games. The conversations focused more on encouragement than on hitting suggestions. Just hang in there and keep working hard, his dad would tell him. Good things will happen.

Mr. Miranda had to be beaming after watching his son deliver a walk-off three-run home run off Milwaukee's All-Star closer Josh Hader to lift the Twins to a 4-1 win at Target Field.

Miranda's heroics came two innings after he popped up in the infield with two runners in scoring position in a tie game. That missed opportunity was on his mind as he stepped into the box.

"Just do something good on this one," he told himself.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli called Hader "one of the five most dominant pitchers in baseball." Miranda blasted a hanging 1-0 slider, then looked into the dugout to see his teammates' reaction as the ball sailed over the left field wall.

"It was cool watching them happy and jumping," he said.

The organization is happy with Miranda's progress after a slump left his batting average at .176 entering June. Miranda admits he felt pressure to prove himself, tried to do too much and flailed at the plate.

He turned to his dad and veteran teammates for guidance.

"I was in his ear lot," shortstop Carlos Correa said.

About what?

"He was swinging at everything," Correa said. "Now he's more calm. He's got a better understanding of the strike zone and how they're going to pitch to him."

The Twins optioned Miranda to St. Paul in late May to make room for Royce Lewis, who injured his knee in his first game, which opened the door for Miranda to return 24 hours later.

Something clicked. Miranda started hitting and has stayed hot, batting .348 with a .674 slugging percentage and 1.062 OPS since June 28.

"He's the same player and the same person the day we sent him down as the day we brought him back," Baldelli said. "The entire time he could hit. The entire time we thought he could hit. You don't have years like he had last year as a young player by accident. That is not a mistake."

The lesson is patience. Miranda's early struggles led many people, me included, to question why he was taking a big-league roster spot. Patience sometimes gets rewarded.

Miranda has earned the opportunity to stay in the lineup and to get as many at-bats as possible. He was named the organization's minor league player of the year in 2021 after hitting 30 home runs between Class AA and AAA. At age 24, he's proving that he can hit major-league pitching, too.

His three hits Wednesday raised his average to .260 with eight home runs. He has put an emphasis on showing better plate discipline.

"I used to be, not a free swinger, but I had a bigger zone," he said. "I would swing at pitches out of the zone. I would put them in play but not the way that I wanted. Not hard. It was weak contact sometimes."

There was nothing weak about his game-winning blast. The ball traveled 396 feet with an exit velocity of 102.9 miles per hour.

"When I hit the ball," he said, "I knew it was gone."

He started his celebration by walking a few steps down the line, staring into the dugout, a rookie brimming with confidence after getting the upper hand against one of the game's best pitchers.

"He's earned his fun right there," Baldelli said.

Teammates dumped a bucket of water on him at home plate and congratulated him more in the clubhouse. Miranda checked his phone after finishing interviews at his locker. He couldn't wait to get a call from his dad.