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14 February 2006

The End of an Era? Part 1

My Torii Experience

I met Torii once back when he still owned his home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. It was a pretty normal summer morning except for the fact that I had just dragged myself out of bed at an uncharacteristic 5:00 am that morning. See I work in the produce department at the Golden Valley Byerly’s and we get there about 6:00 am to start getting things ready, much like a bakery would. But since I’m part-time, I normally work during the afternoon and the night, and on this rare occasion I had showed up the same time as the managers. After about 2 hours in to the job, I was just starting to wake up and then suddenly I woke up in a hurry. I had seen Torii in our store several times, just not face to face. This morning he startled me though, because he appeared around a corner suddenly less then 10 feet away from me with his wife. This, of course, was the perfect time for someone like Torii to come in because at 8:00 am on a weekday morning, there aren’t a lot of people in the store.

“Oh… Hey Torii,” I said somewhat startled and surprised.

“Hey how’s it going?” he replied.

In hindsight I should’ve been reaching for something for him to autograph but like I said it was still early for me and I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly; plus all I had in front of me was a big pile of oranges. I’m glad though, that I didn’t bother him too much, because I’m sure he just wanted to get out of the house and start a day of normally.  “It’s going, it’s going. You?” was all I could come up with.

“Ah, man I’m just tired”

“Yeah, late night uh” I said, referring to the fact that they had gone quite a few extra innings the night before.

“Yeah (pointing at his wife) she kept me up all night.”

“Ah…” (I faked a look that I understood, but really, I was just surprised that he had just shared that information with me).

 

 

The Torii Hunter Story

Over this past off-season there was a ton of speculation that Torii was going to be traded. On the one hand there were the guys like the Yankee reporters claiming that Torii would find his way into pinstripes for 2006 because he’s the best candidate to fill their gap in CF. I remember one particularly annoying reporter saying that one potential trade could involve Torii for Carl Pavano. This being a completely ignorant and pompous claim, assuming the Yankees can just dump their trash for an All-Star center fielder like Torii Hunter. Plus like we really need more pitching… Anyways, on the other hand there was the blogging community. Many men, who I greatly respect, talked about how overrated Torii was as a centerfielder and how replaceable his offensive capabilities are. I hope this little tribute proves otherwise.  See, it was through that little encounter that I had, that one can really understand the type of guy Torii is. Torii speaks his mind. He is honest and upfront and while you might not want to hear, at least you know where he stands.

The biggest reason why I consider Torii to be so vital to this ball club is that he his name has become synonymous with Twins success.  In 2001, in Torri’s first full year as a starter, the Twins finished above .500 for the first time since 1992. While Torii had already established himself as the Twins starter in centerfield before 2002, his breakthrough also marked the beginning of a new era for the Minnesota Twins. In 2002 Torii was the first Twin to be a starter in the All Star game since Kirby Puckett started in CF in 1995. Having already hit 20 HR’s, Torii also got the full All Star treatment by participating in the annual Homerun Derby. However, it was in the first inning in that game that Torii captured the hearts of Minnesotans and fans everywhere. The nation watched as Torii ran to the wall, leapt up and stole a homerun from Barry Bonds. One minute we stared awe struck, the next minute we laughed as Barry came rushing out into the outfield to hoist Torii onto his shoulders. I was still pretty young when I witnessed that spectacle, but surprisingly that moment holds more significance to me now. In my mind Torri’s catch demonstrated a small triumph over something that has destroyed baseball. See while Torii’s out there playing his heart out basically living his dream, guys like Bonds, expect fans to respect what they do. They expect us to believe as they lightly flail their arms at the baseball and effortlessly hit homeruns, they expect us to believe that their consistent injuries are just due to old age, they expect us to believe that they just need to lose 30 lbs in one off-season to take pressure of their precious knees. Well I don’t buy it anymore and anyone who wants to call me out on my claims, feel free to do so. After the All-Star game the Twins rallied out of their decade long slump and made the playoffs for the first time since 1991, winning the division in the process. That year the Twins established themselves as a legit, beating Oakland in the first round, a team that had won 102 games in the regular season. Granted, the Twins folded to the soon to be World Series champions in the Anaheim Angels, but there were definite reasons to be optimistic for the future. In 2003, the Twins again won the Central Division title. However after a masterful game 1 by emerging Johan Santana, the Twins lost three games in a row to the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs. The Twins in 2004 defended their division title for a second time. This time however, a much more seasoned team was coming up against those “Damn Yankees”. In my mind 2004 was the year that the Twins truly had the ability to take it to the next level. After game 1, the Twins appeared poised to do so as Santana this time shut out the Yankees. Game 2 was another story though. The starting pitchers were Brad Radke and John Lieber. That day Brad reminded us that while he may be a big game pitcher, he is not an All-Star pitcher, giving up homeruns to Jeter, Sheffield and Rodriguez. Still the Twins fought back and in the eight inning beat up Tom Gordon and more importantly kept the rally going scoring two runs to tie the game against the cornerstone of the Yankee machine: Mariano Rivera. No closer has more defiantly destroyed the hopes of the opposition then Rivera. After the eighth, the game was tied and destined to go to extra innings as Rivera calmed the situation and Joe Nathan strolled onto the mound for the Twins. Finally in the 12th, Torii Hunter came to the plate and made Tanyon Sturtze pay dearly for his mistake of throwing him a high fastball. He had hoisted the Twins hopes on his shoulders and hit a shot over the fence of Yankee Stadium.  Minnesota fans everywhere cheered as Torii rounded the bases, breaking the back of the evil empire that would soon find themselves down two games to none in a best of three series. However, as you all know that was not the end of that day as a coach made a poor decision on the new hero who only wanted to be able win it for his team and its loyal fans. But that’s a story for another day. After that major disappointed finishing 2004, 2005 brought its own new challenges. New faces were abundant, but expectations were very high as some predicted to see Minnesota in the World Series. By midseason, Torii was desperately trying to give hope to a team struggling to keep up with the red hot White Sox. Torii had had an amazing June at the plate but on July 29th, Torii tried to do too much. Ironically, former teammate David Ortiz had hit a shot into the awkward juncture in centerfield and in an attempt to make a miraculous catch, Torii busted up his ankle. While the Twins hopes of defending their division title were fading, Torri’s injury marked the end of any attempted comeback. Still the 2005 Twins managed to still finish above .500 for the 5th consecutive season. 

The Real Torii Hunter

Torii’s breakout year in 2002 drove the Minnesota Twins to their first of three division titles, and his injury this past season marked the end of that streak. Obviously Torii is not single-handedly responsible for the Twins success, but I find this fact to be quite telling of who Torii is to this team. See after his very successful season in 2002, the organization was thrilled with Torii’s playmaking ability in CF. But what they were hoping they had found was that guy who could change games with his bat. As much as they wanted Torii to be that guy, Torii subconsciously declared that he would not be that guy. After the first half of 2002, Torii had already hit 20 HR, yet he only managed to hit 9 more the rest of the season, failing to become the first Twin to hit 30HR’s since 1987. Similarly Torii proved he was not a clean-up hitter as he has shown that he is much more productive from the 5 spot. See as much as we’ve needed that game changing ability at the plate, Torii has proven time in and time out that he is a game saver, not a game changer. This fact becomes most apparent when we start talking about all the homeruns and doubles he saves while playing in the outfield. Further, even though Torii has become so intrinsically tied with Twins success he is at his best when others on the team are struggling.

Watching Torii at the plate can sometimes be very frustrating. Torii has proven that he is one of the best hitting centerfielders in the game, but still there is much too be desired. Mainly, he is not a big average hitter. Torii hit .289 in 2002 but after that he has basically developed into a .270 hitter. Secondly, Torii is very much a hacker. As much as you may want to change that, you probably can’t. It just has too much to do on how he was raised. Torii was not only pursuing a dream to become a major leaguer, he was also pursuing a dream in which he could right some of the wrongs in his family. He wanted to be able to support his parents and his siblings. He wasn’t going to be able to do that by watching pitches go by at the plate, he had to accomplish that by swinging his bat. So yes Torii will strikeout more than 100 times in a full season, and no he will not accumulate a very high on-base percentage. Finally, Torii has a tendency to be very streaky. Torii has some very good months but he also has some very bad months, the good thing though is that he tends to be very reliable down the stretch. While he may be somewhat frustrating, he has proven to be very inspiring with his bat. As I mentioned before, Torii is not a game changer, but a game saver. He is the same at the plate as he is on the field in that respect. Over the past couple of years, Torii is at his best inspiring teammates to not give up. He is out there saving the team, keeping them around .500 in any given month as opposed to letting them fall below that mark. Similarly, he has very much become a big game hitter. While other teammates are bowing before teams like the Yankees and the Angels (both teams we had lost to in the playoffs), Torii is out there trying to inspire confidence. In looking at teams that the Twins have played somewhat regularly over the past three years, Torri has put up some of his best marks against the Yankees (.302BA) and the Angels (.284BA). On the same note Torii is a lifetime .304 hitter in the playoffs with a .522 SLG percentage. For the Twins in 2006, Torii will remain vital as the teams only proven power threat from the right side of the plate, so losing him would be quite damaging.

Defensively, there’s no disrespecting Torii’s game. Not only has he proven that he has the talent to make game saving catches, every day he has also proven that he is willing to give it is all, often times sacrificing himself for the team. Some may say that Torii is reckless in CF and that he doesn’t consider the after effects of what happens if and when he injures himself. But considering the way he has conducted himself, I think it’s a true testament that he’s only had two major injuries over the past seven years. I think it’s also a testament to how well he’s familiar with his abilities. Sure you might notice that Torii will make a catch look a lot better than it is with a dive or a jump. But as I’ve mentioned before with this, for anyone who’s actually played baseball, often times it’s much safer to plan on making a jump or a dive as opposed to not and then falling unexpectedly. Torii has already declared that despite his most recent ankle injury he will not change the way he plays baseball. And I know for a fact that slowing down is not the way he approaches life, so I did not expect that to happen anyways. I look forward to again watching Torii crashing into walls and diving into the turf to make the catch. Thank you Spiderman for making every pop-fly and line-drive to centerfield into something to cheer about.

Torii has also established himself as a very good base stealer. While the Twins have seen a good deal of speed talent on the team in such guys like Luis Rivas and Christian Guzman, nobody but Torii has developed any kind of skill on the base paths. See while Rivas and Guzman were lazily sitting around wasting their natural born talent, Torii was taking the lead learning how to get good jumps of pitchers. In 2006, yes Torii might lose a step because of his ankle injury, but I think that he will emerged as a 30 SB threat because of the knowledge and skill he’s developed. This aspect of his game proves hands down, the leadership he implores on this team.

As far as Torii’s clubhouse presence, after his absence in the second half of 2005, there is no doubt in my mind that he was sorely missed. Yes there was the incident with Justin Morneau, but in all sincerity we, the fan base, had no business knowing about that. Little (yes little) incidents like that happen all the time and nobody ever hears about it because it stays in the clubhouse. As I mentioned before, Torii speaks his mind, and unfortunately he may have gone too far with Morneau. To me that’s a testament to his role when he’s in the clubhouse. He is the most vocal player in there, keeping guys’ heads up or calling them out when necessary. While he may inspire on the diamond, his role as a leader behind the scenes is even more vital to this team. After last year, this team’s mentality was on a serious low. Prospects had not lived up to expectations, and veterans were struggling to make up any difference. All said, this team was projected to go deep in to the playoffs; instead they struggled to stay above .500. Torii will be instrumental in 2006 to leading these guys back to a winning mentality, because frankly that’s what he’s known during his time in Minnesota. Sure he witnessed some of the trials of the late 90’s but his emergence as a regular in 2001 marked the first winning season since 1992, and his emergence as star marked the emergence of the Twins as a force in the American League Central. Torii has said that in 2006 he will be back with a vengeance, so I look forward to opening day. As many have pointed out, 2006 could be Torii’s final year with the Twins. His contract calls for a 12 million dollar option for 2007, and with the Twins there are always budget concerns. Torii has already voiced a strong desire to play his entire career in Minnesota and I personally believe that he would be willing to restructure his contract if the organization makes the commitment to him. If Torii returns to his status as one of the leaders of this club, I think the best option for the Twins would be to make a new contract with Torii by midseason as they did with Johan last year. Figures I can’t be sure of, but somewhere in the ballpark of a 4 year deal with an average of 9 million is by no means unreasonable considering Hunter’s contributions to this team. Agree or disagree, you cannot ignore what his presence means to the Minnesota Twins and its fans.

Other Stuff:

  • I know I said I'd post my thoughts and predictions for the other divisions, but this post took me a lot longer than I planned on but I will be posting some of that soon.
  • Looking ahead to April, I am of course excited to see two Cy Young hopefuls battling it out opening day.  Johan tends to start out the season slow, so I might give the edge to Halladay, but should be an amazing matchup so we will see.  Personally I'm more excited that the Twins have a change to welcome A.J. Burnett American League style.  Personally, I believe he's a jerk who plays when he wants to, obviously now he'll want to.  The Twins have had a good deal of success against hard throwing righties, so we we'll see!
  • This End of an Era? deal has a couple of parts and then I'll get into some of the players of the new era so I hope you enjoy it!


04:13 PM |

Comments

Seth Tiegs

Hey nice article you have just written by Torii Hunter. He is a good player.I hope he re-signs with the Twins after this year because they need him out there i just dont think the young talent they have in the minors are the answer. Plus if they want to have people come to games and fill the seats at the dome they need Torii.

Posted by: Seth Tiegs | 15 February 2006 at 02:56 PM

Jeff

"as a coach made a poor decision on the new hero who only wanted to be able win it for his team and its loyal fans."

A lot of people get down on Gardy for that move of leaving in Nathan...but even as a Gardy-disliker, I will back him up any day on that move. There were no legit options in the pen for that situation, and Nathan was looking great...IMO, the bone head move that costed us the game, was starting Jason Kubel (30-some MLB games) over our best hitter all season long, Lew Ford. What a great game it was, though.

Posted by: Jeff | 17 February 2006 at 11:48 AM

Josh

Great post! I have been arguing the same facts for the last couple years about Torii. The intangibles he brings to the club cannot be measured. If you get rid of Torii, you are severing the heart from this franchise. He is and will continue to be my favorite Twins player, because he plays the game the way it was meant to be played.

Posted by: Josh | 18 February 2006 at 01:15 PM

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