FORT MYERS, Fla.—Professional basketball underwent a revolution when a bunch of data nerds arrived at an earth-shattering conclusion: 3-point shots are worth more than 2-point shots.

That revelation led to smart NBA teams like the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets hoisting up an unprecedented amount of threes. It didn’t take long for them to use their sophisticated mathematical talents to come up with another brilliant innovation—threes from the corner of the court are better than threes from the middle, because they’re nearly two feet closer to the rim. Today, the corner three is perhaps the deadliest shot in the NBA.

Now that same common-sense logic is making its way into baseball, and it’s changing the game in unprecedented ways. The Minnesota Twins set an all-time record by bashing 307 home runs on their way to 101 regular-season wins last year by defying conventional wisdom. Instead of looking to hit the ball up the middle, as has long been taught as ideal, their batters aimed for the corners, which is the easiest way to reach the bleachers.

Essentially, the Twins have emerged as the MLB version of the Warriors and Rockets—and it’s made them not just an offensive juggernaut, but also a legitimate World Series contender.

“If you work up the middle, you’re going to hit a single, or you’re going to hit it to that guy, and that guy catches everything,” Twins catcher Mitch Garver said, gesturing to the team’s Gold Glove center fielder Byron Buxton. “I don’t want to do that.”