"This is my last stop. I'm not playing with anybody else."The ball club officially announced the 39-year-old outfielder's return to Minnesota with a news conference Wednesday afternoon. The news broke Tuesday evening that the beloved Hunter would be back in his old stomping grounds with a 1 year, $10.5 million deal.
Hunter started his career with the Twins and played with the club from 1997-2007. From there, he spent five years as an Angel in California and then two years with Central Division-rival Detroit. He wanted a World Series title (who doesn't?), but he decided to come back to where it all started and finish his extraordinary career with the Twins.
By the numbers
Let's take a look at what he's done in his career. Nine Gold Gloves, five All-Star appearances, two Silver Slugger Awards, a career .279 hitter, 331 home runs and 1,310 RBIs. In 2014 with the Tigers, Hunter hit 17 homers and knocked in 83 RBIs, a stat that would have led the Twins.
At 39 years old, it's expected that a player isn't playing as well as he used to. It's already been talked about that Hunter doesn't have the same running, fence-hitting catches on defense that we remember in Minnesota either. If this were any other free agent, Twins fans would justifiably be grumbling about paying $10 mill for a washed-up veteran.
But this is Torii Hunter.
"I can play a little bit. I got some bullets left. ... I'm here to win."New Twins manager Paul Molitor also said he's here to win. While I don't think the wins will come that easily for this team, I'm glad Hunter is back in Minnesota. My first reaction when I heard the news was that it was obviously a sentimental deal rather than one with a "he'll help us win" mentality.
That's fine by me, and it appears fine by Twins fans. Talk to us in June if the Twins are struggling in the division basement again and maybe the opinions will be different. For now, having a good baseball guy who's always showing off his pearly whites around Target Field is a good thing.
What goes around comes around
It's been widely publicized that the late Twins legend Kirby Puckett took Hunter under his wing as he worked his way into the majors. Puckett was a lovable center fielder for the Twins, and then it was Hunter's turn to take over that role. I think Twins fans were hoping that streak would continue with Ben Revere or Aaron Hicks. Maybe we were spoiled.
The Twins had Denard Span and Revere for a time, but after they weren't with the team anymore, there's been a hole in center and in that leadership role. (I still don't understand why the Twins got rid of Revere after Span. It didn't make sense to me.) There was hope that young Hicks would take over, however he's struggled both defensively and at the plate.
Maybe the biggest thing I'd like to see from Hunter in 2015 is to show Hicks what he knows in order to make him a better player. So that Hicks can one day become the leader in the clubhouse. Assuming the Twins don't deal him away, of course.
Torii Hunter is back. #mntwins pic.twitter.com/X54R15BsPa
— RandBall (@RandBall) December 3, 2014He's Torii freaking Hunter
It's already been thrown out there that the experiments of bringing Jason Kubel and Jason Bartlett back did not go well in terms of on-field performance or leading the clubhouse. I don't really think you can compare the two though. Hunter is different, because he just is. I know, pretty good reasoning, huh?
But seriously, Hunter is a beloved player in this state. Regardless of how he does on the field, I think his presence will be a big draw for fans at the start of the 2015 season. Even if things don't go according to this plan, at least Hunter will (likely) finish off his career in Minnesota. That's pretty special and something you don't see very often in professional sports.
The additions of Paul Molitor as manager and Hunter are two items that could be key in boosting the organization's status with fans. We're not expecting a playoff run or anything, but I'd just like to see some better baseball and a step in the right direction.
"This is where I needed to be. This is home for me."Welcome back, Torii.
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