Heavy hitters: Panda, Miggy come up big

• A little junk in the trunk can make a ball fly a long way
• Will Clark likens Sandoval to Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett
• Sandoval does work to keep in shape and trains in the winter

SAN FRANCISCO -- From Miami to the Arizona desert, dozens of major league players are well into their offseason regimens, reporting dutifully to ultra-modern performance centers in an effort to shed pounds and tone up for 2013.

Yet, the two teams vying for this year's World Series title have several players proving that a little junk in the trunk can make a ball fly a long way.

That fact was driven home in historic fashion Wednesday, when San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval smacked three home runs to all corners of spacious AT&T Park in Game 1 of the World Series.

In becoming the fourth player with a three-homer Series game, Sandoval, the 5-11, 240-pounder known as "Kung Fu Panda," provided the highlight to a career that has fluctuated as wildly as his waistline.

He also illustrated that production usually camouflages concerns about conditioning.

"Obviously, we all want him to be in great shape," Giants hitting coach Hensley Meulens said of Sandoval. "When you hit like he's hitting, you overlook that. It is what it is. He'll manage where he's at."

An instant fan favorite during his breakout seasons of 2008 and 2009, Sandoval hit bottom in 2010. He had a 62-point drop in batting average (.268), and his slugging percentage fell from .556 to .409. That and an expanding waistline reduced Sandoval to an almost full-time spectator as the Giants won their first World Series.

Humbled, Sandoval lost 38 pounds that winter. In the two years since, Sandoval, 25, has been hampered by nagging injuries.

It's also safe to say his weight has fluctuated in that time span.

But his stunning run this postseason — Sandoval had five homers in his last four games before Game 2 — shined a light on a hitting skill set that inspired another nickname: Fat Ichiro (after the New York Yankees' Ichiro Suzuki).

"From a hitter's standpoint, I look at his hand-eye coordination, not his body," said former Giants standout Will Clark, a special assistant with the club. "He can hit a ball at his eyes, and a ball at his toes.

"We're all blessed with positive things and blessed with negative things. What are you going to say, 'Prince Fielder, bad body, can't hit?' He can flat-out rake. Pablo's the same way."

Indeed, Clark likens Sandoval to Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett, who had a rotund frame but played a fabulous center field and was a career .318 hitter for the Minnesota Twins.

And across the field from the Giants, the Detroit Tigers feature a pair of beefy sluggers on their infield corners in Fielder and Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera. Their most clutch hitter this postseason is left fielder Delmon Young, who won't be gracing Men's Fitness covers anytime soon.

So does shape matter much at all?

"I don't really keep up with his diet," Giants infielder Aubrey Huff, smirking, said of Sandoval. "Hopefully, we can keep riding him."

Still, Sandoval does work to keep in shape and trains in the winter at the same performance center as Los Angeles Dodgers star Matt Kemp, who tweeted his amazement at Sandoval's three-homer game.

"That means a lot to me," Sandoval said Wednesday. "All the work you have to do to get in shape. You have to keep focused, keep playing and keep working hard."

Or run the risk of the bad-body label commanding attention when things go awry.

Now, though, Sandoval — who joined Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson and Albert Pujols in the World Series three-homer club — is keeping good company.

Said Clark: "That fits right in there: Babe Ruth, Mr. October … and Panda."