The following press release comes to us from the Minnesota Twins and Major League Baseball, and announces the return of one of Minnesota’s fan favorites back to the Twin Cities for one more year.
Torii Hunter returns to Minnesota on one-year contract
The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have signed free agent outfielder Torii Hunter to a one-year, $10.5 million contract.
Hunter, 39, hit .286 (157-for-549) with 33 doubles, two triples, 17 home runs, 83 RBI and 71 runs scored in 142 games with the Detroit Tigers in 2014.
The former Twin is a five-time All-Star (2002, ’07, ’09, ’10, ’13), nine-time Rawlings Gold Glove recipient, two-time Louisville Slugger® Silver Slugger Award winner and received the Branch Rickey Award in 2009 for exceptional community service. Hunter was originally selected by the Twins in the first round (20th overall) of the 1993 First-Year Player Draft out of Pine Bluff (Ark.) High School.
The Arkansas native spent 11 seasons (1997-2007) with the Twins hitting .271 (1,218-for-4,492) with 259 doubles, 26 triples, 192 home runs, 711 RBI and 672 runs scored in 1,234 games played during that time. He has been to the postseason eight times, four as a member of the Twins (2002, ’03, ’04, ’06).
Hunter has a career .279 batting average (2,327-for-8,336) with 476 doubles, 39 triples, 331 home runs, 1,310 RBI, 1,229 runs scored and 193 stolen bases in 2,233 games spanning 18 seasons between the Twins, Los Angeles Angels (2008-12) and Tigers (2013-14).
“I definitely think that me coming here was a no-brainer,” said Hunter, who donned his No. 48 Twins jersey at a press conference on Wednesday. “This is where my heart is. There were other clubs that might’ve given me a chance to win, but in the back of my mind, I knew they weren’t necessarily going to win. So why not go somewhere where we’re going to fight, and there might be tough times, but we have a chance to win this thing.”
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