Torii Hunter’s Twins Return Came With One Big Regret

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Greg M. Cooper USA TODAY Sports

Torii Hunter had one final decision to make in the winter of 2014. After spending the first 11 seasons of his career with the Minnesota Twins, Hunter had already established himself as one of the most important players of his generation. He had left Minnesota as a free agent following the 2007 season, built an All-Star-caliber career with the Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers, and reached the postseason multiple times.

At age 39, though, Hunter had to decide where he wanted to play his final season. The Twins wanted him back. So did the Kansas City Royals, who were coming off a trip to the World Series. Looking back more than a decade later, Hunter still wonders what might have happened if he had chosen differently.

Hunter recently appeared on the To The Majors podcast with Kevin Pillar and Cody Allen, where he revealed just how seriously he considered joining Kansas City.

“I had a decision to make, and guess what the decision was: should I go to the Royals, or should I go to the Twins?” Hunter said.

On paper, the Royals certainly presented an appealing option. Kansas City had just reached the World Series in 2014 and had a young core that looked capable of competing for years. Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain were emerging stars, while Alex Gordon remained one of the game's better two-way outfielders.

Still, the Twins found a way to make their pitch more personal.

One Last Chapter in Minnesota

Hunter's relationship with the Twins was complicated. Minnesota drafted him in the first round of the 1993 MLB Draft, and he eventually became one of the most recognizable players in franchise history. But after the 2007 season, the Twins allowed him to leave in free agency.

Hunter signed with the Angels and continued to thrive. When the opportunity came to return to Minnesota seven years later, there was understandably some hesitation. Hunter mentioned in the podcast that his wife didn't want to go back to Minnesota after the way his first tenure ended. Hunter also had a legitimate chance to join a Royals team that had just played for a championship.

Then Mike Herman, who was part of the Twins' communications staff during Hunter's original Twins tenure, gave Hunter another reason to come home. He told Hunter that one more season with Minnesota could help cement his legacy among the franchise's all-time leaders. That argument worked.

“He was like, ‘Hey, come back, and you’ve got an opportunity to be in the top five in every category with the Twins, and you’ll go down in history or whatever. And we love you,’” Hunter recalled.

The Twins weren't simply selling him on another season of baseball. They were selling him on the chance to finish his career where it started. Hunter ultimately chose Minnesota. And while the 2015 Twins didn't reach the postseason, Hunter had a productive final season. He hit .286 with 22 doubles, 22 home runs and 81 RBIs while providing the veteran presence expected from a player entering his age-40 season. More importantly, he got the ending he wanted. Hunter retired as a Twin.

The Part That Still Bugs Him

There was just one problem. The Twins came remarkably close to making the postseason that year. Minnesota entered the final weekend of the 2015 season with a chance to secure an American League Wild Card spot. The Royals were also waiting at Target Field, having already established themselves as one of the American League's best teams.

Then everything fell apart for the Twins. Kansas City swept Minnesota. The Royals secured the top seed in the American League, while the Twins watched their postseason hopes disappear. Kansas City eventually went all the way, defeating the New York Mets in the World Series. And that is where Hunter's alternate-history question comes into play.

“If I would have chose the Royals, would I have won my World Series?” Hunter said.

It's an understandable question. Hunter reached the postseason eight times during his career but never won a championship. He had plenty of opportunities, including multiple playoff runs with the Angels and Tigers, but a World Series ring remained missing from his résumé.

Had he signed with Kansas City, Hunter could have been part of the team that finally broke through. Instead, he spent his final season chasing the Twins' playoff dream. And that dream ended at the hands of the very team he could have joined.

The Right Decision for the Wrong Outcome?

There is no way to know whether Hunter would have won a championship with Kansas City. Baseball doesn't work that way. One player doesn't guarantee a World Series, and an alternate decision can create an entirely different series of events. But from the Twins' perspective, Hunter's story is still significant. Minnesota wasn't the obvious baseball choice in that winter. The Royals had just reached the World Series, while the Twins were coming off a 92-loss season in 2014.

Yet, the Twins had something Kansas City couldn't offer. They could give Hunter the opportunity to finish his career where it began. Hunter took that opportunity. He got to play in the new Target Field, a stadium that had been little more than a plan when he left Minnesota. He got to return to the clubhouse, reconnect with the organization, and officially retire as a member of the Twins.

More than a decade later, Hunter can still wonder about the alternate ending. For Twins fans, though, there is something fitting about how it actually played out. Hunter started his career in Minnesota. He became a star in Minnesota. He left, built a borderline Hall of Fame-caliber résumé elsewhere and then came back for one final season. And when he walked away from the game, he did so wearing a Twins uniform. The World Series ring never came. But Hunter's place in Twins history was secure.

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What stands out about Hunter’s decision? Would the Twins have been better or worse without him in 2015? Leave a comment and start the discussion,

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[PuckettPond]

Forgot about him.

[Andy MacPhail]

Hunter gave a lot to the Twins during his time with them. His offense, defense, and especially his clubhouse presence. That said a World Series ring would have helped his HOF resume. Still I'm very happy that he chose the Twins & think that his presence today could help if asked.

[theBOMisthebomb]

This is the story of Minnesota men's professional major league sports teams since 1991, no championships. Normally, it's that a player or coach leaves Minnesota and wins a championship somewhere else. This Torii story is a slightly different twist. 

[Saxophone Joe]

I maintain that if Hunter had robbed Ortiz of that homer in Boston in the 2013 ALCS, the Tigers would’ve made it to the WS. Would’ve been an all-time catch. Missed it by inches iirc.

[wesnewy]

Man, we have gotten some real bad press with Donaldson and now Torii. What is next Dozier?

[LastOnePicked]

3 minutes ago, wesnewy said:

Man, we have gotten some real bad press with Donaldson and now Torii. What is next Dozier?

Worse. Emilio Pagan.

[bean5302]

@Saxophone Joe posted about this topic Tuesday (4 days ago) in the forums. I chalk it up to Torii Hunter, foot in mouth champion.

 

[Saxophone Joe]

Check out Torii in this same interview throwing shade at Bill Pohlad for producing Brokeback Mountain. 

[NYCTK]

3 hours ago, Saxophone Joe said:

Check out Torii in this same interview throwing shade at Bill Pohlad for producing Brokeback Mountain. 

I'm guessing this is a joke, but he's essentially dead to me since those initial comments and subsequent political endorsement. You're allowed to have bad or controversial opinions, and so many of those in baseball do, but once you make political endorsements based on them people are allowed to take note and adjust their opinions of you based off them. 

[MeleMouth]

1 hour ago, NYCTK said:

I'm guessing this is a joke, but he's essentially dead to me since those initial comments and subsequent political endorsement. You're allowed to have bad or controversial opinions, and so many of those in baseball do, but once you make political endorsements based on them people are allowed to take note and adjust their opinions of you based off them. 

He's a ballplayer. We project good qualities to players, particularly ones who are telegenic and play with grace like Hunter, but we would be better off not assuming any good or bad qualities about them as people.

[Woof Bronzer]

7 hours ago, Saxophone Joe said:

Check out Torii in this same interview throwing shade at Bill Pohlad for producing Brokeback Mountain. 

What was the shade?  "Ha ha, you produced a film that won 3 Oscars and made a bunch of cash?"  

[jmlease1]

The more Hunter talks the less I end up liking him.

WTF is the bit about his wife not wanting to come back to MN after the way things ended the first time? What, because they didn't hand him a huge contract, so she's holding a grudge (or more likely Torii is still feeling slighted and is passing it off to his spouse)?

Considering that Hunter sucked in his final season, I'd normally think that adding him to KC would have been more likely to torpedo their chances to win the WS than add to it, but Rios was somehow even worse, so probably didn't matter which washed up RF they signed. Although real possibility Hunter could have screwed up their chemistry?

I have zero sympathy for Hunter. "Oh noes, the Twins offered me real money and opportunity to rebuild my relationship to a fanbase that I had crapped on heading towards retirement and I took it and guessed wrong on which team might also get me a ring." Boo effing hoo. He was quite bad in his final season, totally washed up.

I'm betting Hunter will be out soon from his advisor role with the Angels with the change in ownership, and I'm guessing he won't be sought after for a significant role for an MLB club. He definitely will not be getting a shot as a manager, and I would not want him.

[Linus]

Patrick Reusse once said that if you gave him ten minutes with Hunter he could get him to say anything he wanted. I really don’t pay attention to what most athletes say particularly somebody like Hunter.