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. 

[ewen21]

23 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

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

He sucked at age 40, did he?  Torii hit 22 home runs, drove in 81 runs and hit .240.  It wasn't like he would have been expected to do as much in KC as Molitor called on him to do.  Quite frankly, the environment with the Twins has not been great if you ask me for quite some time.  The Twins cut Hunter loose after 2007 when he easily could have been had.  Hunter had more than 1,100 hits AFTER he left the Twins at 32.  Buxton hasn't even reached 900 hits in his 32 year old season and he's pretty much had the starting CF job for 11 seasons now.   I would take Hunter ten times out of ten over Buxton.  He has said some dumb things, but then so has Buxton (plenty!) and so did Mauer.  One thing with Hunter is you knew he came to play.   He played 122 games in RF in his final season.  NOBODY can reasonably expect Buxton to play 122 games in the field at 33 next year.  In fact, how can we expect him to even play the 139 games Hunter did in that last year where he "sucked"?  Buxton played in 140 games once, 126 games another year and over 100 game only one other time.  I would go as far as to say THAT sucks.  As does his lifetime OBP 

[Derojo]

Quote: 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. :Unquote.

Since you didn't specify I take it to mean in MLB. Just simply no way is this true. Torii was a very good player at times; not great. He wasn't most important in MLB. Twins players in 87 and 91 won two World Series. Killibrew, Carew, and Kaat were most important players of their generation. When you write cotton candy fluff, it de-values those who actually had a most important impact in their generation of playing MLB. I very much like Torii Hunter. He was a good Twin and person.

[jmlease1]

20 hours ago, ewen21 said:

He sucked at age 40, did he?  Torii hit 22 home runs, drove in 81 runs and hit .240.  It wasn't like he would have been expected to do as much in KC as Molitor called on him to do.  Quite frankly, the environment with the Twins has not been great if you ask me for quite some time.  The Twins cut Hunter loose after 2007 when he easily could have been had.  Hunter had more than 1,100 hits AFTER he left the Twins at 32.  Buxton hasn't even reached 900 hits in his 32 year old season and he's pretty much had the starting CF job for 11 seasons now.   I would take Hunter ten times out of ten over Buxton.  He has said some dumb things, but then so has Buxton (plenty!) and so did Mauer.  One thing with Hunter is you knew he came to play.   He played 122 games in RF in his final season.  NOBODY can reasonably expect Buxton to play 122 games in the field at 33 next year.  In fact, how can we expect him to even play the 139 games Hunter did in that last year where he "sucked"?  Buxton played in 140 games once, 126 games another year and over 100 game only one other time.  I would go as far as to say THAT sucks.  As does his lifetime OBP 

Is this the Torii Hunter burner account?

Congrats, you found Hunter's best skill as a player: being healthy. Doesn't change the fact that he sucked in his final season.

Neither Buxton nor Mauer combined have said half the dumb things that Hunter has shoveled out of his mouth in the course of his baseball career. 

[NYCTK]

23 hours ago, Derojo said:

Quote: 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. :Unquote.

Since you didn't specify I take it to mean in MLB. Just simply no way is this true. Torii was a very good player at times; not great. He wasn't most important in MLB. Twins players in 87 and 91 won two World Series. Killibrew, Carew, and Kaat were most important players of their generation. When you write cotton candy fluff, it de-values those who actually had a most important impact in their generation of playing MLB. I very much like Torii Hunter. He was a good Twin and person.

You can make the argument he was never, in any season, even a top 3 player at his position in the big leagues, if not the American League alone. 

Torii was a fine ball player. And if the Twins retained him, perhaps they could have done real damage in the playoffs in 2009 or 2010. But Twins fans reverence for him is completely detached from his actual contributions. 

 

[ewen21]

7 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

Is this the Torii Hunter burner account?

Congrats, you found Hunter's best skill as a player: being healthy. Doesn't change the fact that he sucked in his final season.

 

No, it is a non-homer take.  And by the way people are "attacking his character" which I thought was strictly forbidden here.  Hunter sucked in his final season?  You really are going to dig your heels in on that one, are you?  Entirely absurd, but fair enough when you exclude all context (succumb to ignorance).  Hunter "sucked in his last season" and yet at age 40 he managed to hit 22 home runs, drive in 81 runs and hit .240.  How does it suck for a 40 year old position player doing that?  I guess you saw his WAR, huh?  I'd wager less than 1% of the position players who make it to the majors even make it to 40 let alone play 122 games in the outfield.  You clearly don't like him and that is fine.  I get it.

 

HOWEVER, Byron Buxton has started in the field more than 122 precisely ONCE in his 12 seasons and yet is lauded as the best thing since vanilla pudding.   This is a guy who has had his run-ins with the front office (September 2108. walking out on his teammates the last couple weeks in Rochester when he learned he was not getting called up, not answering Torii's calls).  And then curt comments to the press all the way into the beginning of the season when he was absolutely horrendous in 2018, concussion issues and just the whole thing.  They shut his ass down because he was completely clueless offensively.  Then the jun k with fans in social media who dared to rib him about not getting injured at the uniform reveal (which is incredibly childish).  As much as Hunter could agitate with the things he said, I am taking him ten time out of ten over Buxton if I am starting a team.   Not simply because he stays on the field, but because he is a better player and the kind of player I want.  Hunter had 12 season with a 3 or more WAR and Buxton has had 7.  Lord knows where he will be two years from now.

 

[NYCTK]

1 hour ago, ewen21 said:

No, it is a non-homer take.  And by the way people are "attacking his character" which I thought was strictly forbidden here.  Hunter sucked in his final season?  You really are going to dig your heels in on that one, are you?  Entirely absurd, but fair enough when you exclude all context (succumb to ignorance).  Hunter "sucked in his last season" and yet at age 40 he managed to hit 22 home runs, drive in 81 runs and hit .240.  How does it suck for a 40 year old position player doing that?  I guess you saw his WAR, huh?  I'd wager less than 1% of the position players who make it to the majors even make it to 40 let alone play 122 games in the outfield.  You clearly don't like him and that is fine.  I get it.

I agree those are impressive numbers for 40. But his age is entirely irrelevant as to whether he sucks or not. 

I do tend to agree with you though, hitting with a 90 OPS+ isn't great, and his defense in RF wasn't great, but it seems above replacement level which means I tend to agree more with the fWAR number of +0.7 opposed to the bWAR number of -0.7.

Sucks is too extreme, but he wasn't good. 

[ewen21]

13 hours ago, NYCTK said:

I agree those are impressive numbers for 40. But his age is entirely irrelevant as to whether he sucks or not. 

I do tend to agree with you though, hitting with a 90 OPS+ isn't great, and his defense in RF wasn't great, but it seems above replacement level which means I tend to agree more with the fWAR number of +0.7 opposed to the bWAR number of -0.7.

Sucks is too extreme, but he wasn't good. 

I am not trying to say Hunter was "good" when he came back in his forty year old season.   I also don't give much of a DAMN about his WAR or OPS+.  I just think it is really rich to say a forty year old player "sucked" while it was all but impossible (on these boards) to say that about Buxton "sucked" during seasons where he actually SUCKED.  

[USAFChief]

On 9/5/2026 at 7:37 AM, PuckettPond said:

Forgot about him.

You forgot about Torii Hunter??

Quite the fan, you.

Edited Wednesday at 05:30 AM by USAFChief

[ewen21]

Torii isn't the bad guy.  

On 9/5/2026 at 3:48 PM, Saxophone Joe said:

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

Oh heavens no.  Not that!!!

[jmlease1]

19 hours ago, ewen21 said:

No, it is a non-homer take.  And by the way people are "attacking his character" which I thought was strictly forbidden here.  Hunter sucked in his final season?  You really are going to dig your heels in on that one, are you?  Entirely absurd, but fair enough when you exclude all context (succumb to ignorance).  Hunter "sucked in his last season" and yet at age 40 he managed to hit 22 home runs, drive in 81 runs and hit .240.  How does it suck for a 40 year old position player doing that?  I guess you saw his WAR, huh?  I'd wager less than 1% of the position players who make it to the majors even make it to 40 let alone play 122 games in the outfield.  You clearly don't like him and that is fine.  I get it.

 

HOWEVER, Byron Buxton has started in the field more than 122 precisely ONCE in his 12 seasons and yet is lauded as the best thing since vanilla pudding.   This is a guy who has had his run-ins with the front office (September 2108. walking out on his teammates the last couple weeks in Rochester when he learned he was not getting called up, not answering Torii's calls).  And then curt comments to the press all the way into the beginning of the season when he was absolutely horrendous in 2018, concussion issues and just the whole thing.  They shut his ass down because he was completely clueless offensively.  Then the jun k with fans in social media who dared to rib him about not getting injured at the uniform reveal (which is incredibly childish).  As much as Hunter could agitate with the things he said, I am taking him ten time out of ten over Buxton if I am starting a team.   Not simply because he stays on the field, but because he is a better player and the kind of player I want.  Hunter had 12 season with a 3 or more WAR and Buxton has had 7.  Lord knows where he will be two years from now.

 

Why do you keep bringing Byron Buxton into this?

He's got nothing to do with Torii's last season with the Twins, really: Buxton was a 21 year old rookie CF; Torii hadn't played CF in 5 years. It's also not about who would you take to start your franchise: we're literally talking about his last season. You want to crap on Buxton...ok? (I always find it a little weird when people act like a player getting injured is a personal failing, but YMMV) It still has nothing to do with whether or not Torii was good or bad in his final season.

I actually liked Torii a lot as a player, but I'm also realistic about who he was. The 22 homers were decent, but the lack of xbh in other areas was below his standard and what you need from a starting RF. His batting average was essentially a career low (I think you can exclude the cup of coffee in 1998?) and the OBP was a career low. Considering he also wasn't a good defender any longer, he basically sucked as an every day RF. If things didn't end badly, they wouldn't end.

The context here isn't about Hunter's career as a whole (there's no question he's had an incredibly successful baseball career as a player, and it's pretty clear that it's a more successful one than Buxton's. Which one is actually the better player is a more interesting question...but that's a different question entirely) but about his last season, which he seems to have some regrets about...and strangely seems to blame the Twins for his own choice. It's fairly impressive to hit 20+ homers at 40 years old in MLB; it's not impressive for your RF to have an OBP under .300.

[ewen21]

3 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Why do you keep bringing Byron Buxton into this?

Because he is so unbelievably overrated here and Torii Hunter gets a ton of gas where Buxton should be getting it.  He gets so much praise and has been put on such a ridiculous pedestal and he isn't even as good as Hunter.  So what if Torii said he regrets not signing with KC in his last season.  Why wouldn't he?  They did win the world series and what player wouldn't want that?  HE also mentioned he had family and connections in that area.

 

I should also remind you that Torii TRIED to help Buxton when Byron threw his tantrum in Rochester after not getting the call up in 2018.  Buxton ran out on his team and basically was not heard from for a good while.  Torii tried calling him in an attempt to offer guidance, but Bryon wouldn't take his call.  Buxton continued to grouse about it all the way into the beginning of the 2019 season.  

 

There is a big reason why Torii stepped back from the Twins if you ask me.

[jmlease1]

30 minutes ago, ewen21 said:

I should also remind you that Torii TRIED to help Buxton when Byron threw his tantrum in Rochester after not getting the call up in 2018.  Buxton ran out on his team and basically was not heard from for a good while.  Torii tried calling him in an attempt to offer guidance, but Bryon wouldn't take his call.  Buxton continued to grouse about it all the way into the beginning of the 2019 season.  

 

There is a big reason why Torii stepped back from the Twins if you ask me.

there's literally nothing out there that suggests that Hunter and Buxton have any kind of feud and Buxton has spoken publicly about Hunter being a role model for him in how to be a professional. (Hunter is also the guy who threw a punch at Morneau and got into a fight with Pujols, so let's not pretend he's some delicate flower)

Yes, most Twins fans love Byron Buxton. He's probably the most exciting Twins player I've ever seen, and some of us don't hold his many many injuries against him as if they were a personal affront. Hunter had a great run with the Twins and I'd say the fans were pretty supportive of him and the media was very supportive of him. He's lost some of that personal support when he's taken shots at the franchise and for other things he's said...and that's the way it goes.

You're trying to make this about Hunter vs Buxton and there's really no there there.

 

[ewen21]

I never said they had "a feud" nor have I suggested Hunter is pure and innocent, so don't mischaracterize what I said.   What I said was that he tried to help Buxton when Buxton flipped out and left Rochester when the Twins (rightly) did not call him up in September of 2018.  Buxton hit .156 and didn't start hitting in Rochester until the last three games.  He was a mess that year and he had no business doing what he did.  I thought that was disgraceful.  There were reports (and it may have been covered here) that Torii tried to reach out to him but Buxton wasn't picking up his calls.  That is absurd.

 

I do not hold Buxton's injuries as a "personal affront" it is just that I don't get the over the top bull about his "greatness" when he can barely play 100 games in a season and has a lifetime OBP just over .300.  I am sorry.  And then there is this.......the Twins have played meaningful baseball in August and September now six times since 2019 ('19, '20, '22, '23. '24, '26) and he has played in roughly a quarter of those games.  Buxton also has started in just two of the 12 postseason games the Twins have played since he's come into the league.

 

You can get bothered by Hunter having some regret not playing in KC in 2015 (WS champs) and you can grouse about his wife, too.  That can bothers you and you can "love" Buxton.  It makes no sense to me, so I went in on Buxton.  I think Buxton puts his foot in his mouth and is not the kind of player I want in the trenches because you cannot count on him.   Hunter was 24 for 80 as a Twin in the playoffs with 3 homers and 8 runs batted in.  He was possibly the the best CF in the game at that time who made acrobatic plays, crashed into walls, and went all out.  Yet, somehow....some way....they didn't need to load manage him like the Twins have to with Buxton.

Take the last word if that makes you feel better.