This four-game series against the Twins may be the last time Angel fans get to see Torii Hunter in MLB action. That is, if the Twins don’t win a wildcard spot in the playoffs and Torii retires after the completion of this season. Way back in 2011, Torii was talking about retirement, telling the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “I am going to retire an Angel. Next year is my last year. You don’t want to see your skills diminish. You don’t want to linger.” Luckily he didn’t pull the trigger on his career because he went on to have a couple great seasons with the Detroit Tigers, even winning a Silver Slugger award for his play in 2013. But next year the former Angel will be 40-years-old, and this year he has already seen some of his impressive skills diminish. His .295 OBP is the lowest of his entire career, his .408 SLG is his lowest since 2000, he is no longer a threat to steal a base, and he has had a negative defensive WAR now for three years running.
So it seems that Torii Hunter will likely hang ’em up after this season, giving him more time to take in some Notre Dame and Arkansas State football games and to pursue his desire to work in a Major League front office, preferably the one at Target Field.
And with 350 home runs (a shoe-in number in the pre-PED era) and nine Gold Gloves to his name, it seems possible that Torii may also have a little office space cleared out for him at some future date in Cooperstown, New York.
Angel fans who were fortunate enough to have followed the team from 2008 to 2012 were able to enjoy five years of Torii Hunter in his prime. When he came to the Angels as a free agent in the off-season, the Halos had just suffered a bitter three-game sweep in the 2007 ALDS to the Boston Red Sox. That made Hunter’s signing both an exciting acquisition and something of a healing salve for the Angels because not only had Torii long been a defensive human highlight montage, he also had really come into his own as an offensive force the previous two seasons, hitting at least 28 home runs and driving in at least 98 runs per campaign. He was especially welcome in an Angel uniform as he was considered by many in the fan base to be a considerable upgrade over Gary Matthews, Jr. in center field.
“I’m hungry,” Torii stated at his press conference that officially introduced him as the newest Angel. “I want the ring. That’s the reason I came over here, ’cause I know this organization is on the right track, and they’re trying to win right away. I signed here for five years, and I know all five years, you’ve got a chance of winning, so you know, that’s why I thought this was the best fit for me because I really want to get that ring . . . and because I want to work on my tan.”
That was Torii in a nutshell — serious about winning, but making sure he had some fun along the way. And for the next five years, there was a lot of both to be had while you were a fan watching Torii make all those diving catches in the gaps and all those leaping grabs high above the outfield walls, all the while producing a five year 122 OPS+ at the plate, punctuated of course with one of the best bat flips in all of the major leagues.
It was fun to watch an aggressive Torii take an extra base on a sleeping defense, like when he would draw a walk, jog to first base, and then just keep running straight to second base while the pitcher was too busy pouting over the walk. It was fun to watch him when he had his power-swing working, like when he hit three home runs in one game on June 13, 2009 against the Padres or when he hit his first grand slam as an Angel, a walk-off affair on April 7, 2008 to beat the Indians 6-4. Or how about the time on August 1, 2008 when he hit a game-winning RBI-single off of Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning, at Yankee Stadium, to beat the Yanks 1-0?
Good times, Torii, good times.
But then there was also the poignant moment on April 10, 2009, the day after the tragic passing of Nick Adenhart, when Torii ran out just before the start of the game to the large image of the fallen pitcher that was displayed on the Big A’s center field wall and patted it as if to say goodbye for all of us.
Torii Hunter was also a force for the Angels in the post season. In his first year with the Seraphs, Torii helped lead the team to 100 regular season wins and a rematch with the hated Red Sox in the 2008 ALDS. Torii tried to push the Angels on to victory with his .421 OBP and five RBI in the series, but the Halos lost again to the Red Sox, although they did do better this go-round, winning one of the four games.
The next year, the Angels won 97 regular season games, and once again they were pitted against the Red Sox in the ALDS. This time, however, the Angels broke through and swept the Red Sox in three games. The first bold statement of the series was made by Torii Hunter in the fifth inning of the first game when he hit a three-run homer to center field off of Jon Lester to smash the 0-0 tie the two teams had been frozen in.
In his final year with the Halos in 2012, Torii played an important role as Mike Trout’s major league mentor, helping him understand how to handle the press and the myriad other demands on his personal time that come with being a young superstar. At the end of that season, Torii was a free agent, and he wanted to stay an Angel, but Arte Moreno was more interested in buying Josh Hamilton’s next contract rather than Torii’s, so Hunter took a two-year deal worth $26 million from the Tigers instead and helped Detroit make it to the playoffs both years while winning a Silver Slugger award along the way.
One can only wonder what would have happened had the Angels had re-signed Torii Hunter and had him playing in the outfield instead of Josh Hamilton during the 2014 ALDS against the Kansas City Royals, when Hamilton went 0-for-13 during the series. I know the Royals were riding an almost unstoppable wave of momentum in the playoffs last season, but the Angels barely lost the first game 3-2 in extra innings, and Torii has a .314 career batting average against Jason Vargas, a .250 career average against Yordano Ventura, and a .339 career average against James Shields, the three starting pitchers the Royals threw at the Angels, so perhaps he could have been something of a difference maker in that series.
At any rate, if I never see you again, thank you, Torii, for helping make the 2008-2012 Angel baseball seasons exciting ones to watch.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
