Article: Torii Hunter And Announcer John Gordon Named To Twins Hall of Fame

[Seth Stohs]

Last night was the Diamond Awards. On Friday afternoon, the Twins hosted their media luncheon. Terry Ryan gave a baseball message which was followed by Dave St. Peter providing a business update. The final thing St. Peter announced was that two people would be inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2016, Torii Hunter and John Gordon.Hunter was announced first. The Twins decided, maybe based upon no one being voted in last year, to remove any waiting period before a player could be voted for their Hall of Fame. That decision was announced after Hunter announced his retirement last November.

 

Hunter returned to the Twins in 2015 for his final season after spending parts of 1997 through 2007 in a Twins uniform. Hunter sits well inside the Top 10 Twins players in most offensive categories including doubles, home runs, RBI and stolen bases. He went to five All Star games as a member of the Twins.

 

There is no question that Torii Hunter is a "first-ballot" Twins Hall of Famer after his Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers and work throughout the community.

 

St. Peter mentioned that Dan Gladden and Cesar Tovar finished second and third in the voting, respectively.

 

This was also a year in which a veteran's committee held a vote. They voted in long-time radio voice John Gordon to the Hall of Fame. Gordon came to the Twins in 1987 after serving in many broadcasting roles in the big leagues and the minor leagues. He was with the Yankees before coming to the Twins. He worked with Herb Carneal for a few seasons before taking over the #1 radio spot which he held until his retirement following the 2011 season. The Twins radio booth, which is inside the Herb Carneal Press Box, is named for Gordon. He was most famous for this "Touch 'Em All" home run call.

 

Former Twins President Jerry Bell finished second in the veteran's (non-player) voting.

 

Hunter and Gordon will be the 27th and 28th members of the Twins Hall of Fame. They will be inducted in separate ceremonies on the same weekend, July 16-17. Hunter will be inducted on the 16th with Gordon the following day.

 

Other notes from media luncheon:

• Danny Santana will move to the outfield as well. He may get some time still in the infield.
• The Twins will have two translators. One will speak Korean and work with the Twins and Park. One will be a Spanish interpreter which is something MLB is requiring for all teams.
• The Twins will operate in a new facility in the Dominican starting (likely) in September. They'll work with the Philadelphia Phillies.
• Dave St. Peter pointed out that Glen Perkins just completed his ninth Twins Winter Caravan, which is really good, "But he has a ways to go to catch Tony Oliva who just finished his 56th caravan."
• Rod Carew will be here tomorrow. He will be interviewed in the Puckett Atrium in the morning and then meet with the media. He and the Twins will be making an announcement about a new program they'll be working with.
• The Twins have already sold 1.2 million tickets for 2016. They are hoping to surpass 2.3 million. Over 90% renewed.
• The Twins aren't going to have a ceremony for the 25th anniversary of the 1991 World Series championship though it will be a theme throughout the season. It is also the 25th anniversary of the Twins Community Fund which will also be talked about a lot.
• There will be 11 spring training games televised on FSN. 14 games will be on the radio.
• Bert Blyleven is set to do another 100 games in 2016.
• For fan safety, based on requirements by MLB, the Twins will have 6-7 feet of netting over both dugouts. They will also be replacing the netting behind home plate with higher transparency netting for better visibility. He acknowledged that it has been a controversial topic.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I'm sure I missed several things.

 

Twins Fest starts tonight and opening day tickets go on sale at 4.

 

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[tobi0040]

I understand Hunter.  He meant a lot to the Twins during a very key stretch for them.

 

But Nick Gordon is still in A ball

Edited January 29, 2016 by tobi0040

[nicksaviking]

-St. Peter mentioned that Dan Gladden and Cesar Tovar finished second and third in the voting, respectively.-

 

Good players both, but I liked last year's idea of not requiring someone to get in. Regardless of his broadcasting skills, Gladden could get in more on a lifetime achievement with the organization. Someday.

 

Hunter makes sense, they can do Gardy next year. Otherwise just wait until the clear cut guys are eligible, Mauer, Morneau, Nathan, Cuddyer maybe, Santana.

 

Speaking of which, these rules seem pretty informal. Does Santana actually have to retire? Or be out of the league for a year, because...

 

-The Twins will have two translators. One will speak Korean and work with the Twins and Park. One will be a Spanish interpreter which is something MLB is requiring for all teams.-

 

I'm mostly just disheartened that MLB had to require this. Which teams didn't think it made enough business sense to do this one their own?

[Otto von Ballpark]

I have nothing against Hunter, but when is this obvious marketing push going to end?

[Halsey Hall]

I agree with Nick on Gladden, someday.  Torii a no brainer. 

[Mike Sixel]

Well deserved. Congrats.

[Mike Sixel]

 

-St. Peter mentioned that Dan Gladden and Cesar Tovar finished second and third in the voting, respectively.-

 

Good players both, but I liked last year's idea of not requiring someone to get in. Regardless of his broadcasting skills, Gladden could get in more on a lifetime achievement with the organization. Someday.

 

Hunter makes sense, they can do Gardy next year. Otherwise just wait until the clear cut guys are eligible, Mauer, Morneau, Nathan, Cuddyer maybe, Santana.

 

Speaking of which, these rules seem pretty informal. Does Santana actually have to retire? Or be out of the league for a year, because...

 

-The Twins will have two translators. One will speak Korean and work with the Twins and Park. One will be a Spanish interpreter which is something MLB is requiring for all teams.-

 

I'm mostly just disheartened that MLB had to require this. Which teams didn't think it made enough business sense to do this one their own?

 

There are/were teams w/o Spanish interpreters? Wow.

[drjim]

 

There are/were teams w/o Spanish interpreters? Wow.

 

The article I read was that an interpreter is now required for media interviews. I imagine every team had some sort of internal system.

[spinowner]

 

The article I read was that an interpreter is now required for media interviews. I imagine every team had some sort of internal system.

I deal with foreign language speakers fairly regularly. My company's policy is to have an interpreter present rather than relying on a friend or family member. Much lower risk of mistakes in translation.

[HitInAPinch]

"Danny Santana will move to the outfield as well"

 

Good.

[Craig Arko]

Congratulations to both. Also best wishes to Sir Rodney.

[Bill Brown69]

John Gordon for me is a broadcast icon. I miss him but am happy he is going to get his well deserved honor.

[Brandon Brooks]

Speaking of which, these rules seem pretty informal. Does Santana actually have to retire? Or be out of the league for a year, because...

 

I'm sure that Johan will have to officially announce his retirement before the Twins induct him into their Hall of Fame. Wouldn't want to send the message that the organization thinks his career is over!

 

(...Even though it probably is. )

[jimmer]

Good for them.  Both deserving.  I hope Morneau is next.  Also deserving.

[DrNeau]

 

Good for them.  Both deserving.  I hope Morneau is next.  Also deserving.

 

Congrats to Torii and Gordo. Hunter, despite a few random curveball comments, was an unbelievable talent and leader for this organization... an investment that I predict will continue to reap benefits in the future. I always respected his love for the game and no-nonsense approach to preparing and competing. Morneau and Cuddyer are two other players I hope will one day be given Twins HOF honors as well; they have already been earned, in my book. They were straight up hard working guys who came from the same group who made believers out of us in MN. Beyond their on-field talents, they were good people who stood for the right things, dedication, respect, playing the game the "right" way, stepping up and leading others. We've had some great players through the years and it's nice to see them be honored in this way. Classy move by the Twins. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

There are/were teams w/o Spanish interpreters? Wow.

 

My assumption is that no teams had a Spanish-speaking interpreter, where that was his sole job. I mean, there are always players that do interpreting (like Colabello), and usually coaches, but I don't think any teams had full-time interpreters.

[Seth Stohs]

I still think it's silly that Cesar Tovar isn't a Twins Hall of Famer, and Dave Goltz is probably under-appreciated as well. 

[DJL44]

Anything to keep Dan Gladden out

[Pius Jefferson]

Unpopular opinion but I thought John Gordon the broadcaster was awful. Like only in Minnesota could he have a job for nearly 25 years bad. 

[DocBauer]

I know I'm biased as a lifelong Twins fan, but I swear the only broadcaster, at least for baseball, that I ever heard better than Herb Carneall is Vin Scully. The man was absolute class and a true professional. But with all do respect to Cory, I miss Gordon. I don't know why there are those who dislike him. Oh, he named the wrong player once in a while, but that happens in every sport here and there. Imagine a 162 game schedule, and all the games and players over the years.

 

I found Gordon to be professional, but with a few homespun rough edges that I alays appreciated. And his love for the game, and the Twins, was obvious.

 

Sincere congratulations to Gordo, he absolutely deserves his enshrinement and I wish he'd make some kind of comeback, even on a limited basis.

 

BTW...FWIW...IMHO...I love Gladden. In the button down, suddenly and annoyingly corporate, tie wearing, politically correct, vanilla "what was your name again" world of today's broadcasters, unpolished or not, Dazzle is just what he is. Same as when he was a player. And I love that.

[Halsey Hall]

 

Unpopular opinion but I thought John Gordon the broadcaster was awful. Like only in Minnesota could he have a job for nearly 25 years bad. 

I agree! 

[spinowner]

 

I know I'm biased as a lifelong Twins fan, but I swear the only broadcaster, at least for baseball, that I ever heard better than Herb Carneall is Vin Scully. The man was absolute class and a true professional.

You can't put a finer point on it than this. Herb had the knowledge and the voice and the delivery.

[DJL44]

There are several broadcasters of Herb Carneal's generation I enjoyed. Ernie Harwell was great. Jack Buck was entertaining. Mel Allen and Red Barber were tops.

 

Provus works well with Gladden. He learned well working with Uecker all those years in Milwaukee. Much bettter than Gordon with Gladden.

 

I hope Rodney spends some time in the booth this summer. I like when he works TV broadcasts with Bert.