Torii Hunter

As I woke up this morning and was browsing the old Instagram, I've started to notice the Tigers dedication to high quality and tailored suits. Go through any of the players' feeds and somewhere in the distance you'll hear Tim Gunn applauding. 

Last Thursday, the day of the trade deadline and the infamous day when David Price became a Tiger (sorry Rays fans), JD Martinez posted a video of Austin Jackson (you're welcome Mariners fans) showing off his new suit with superhero comic strips lining the inside, and just this morning David Price tweeted that the Tigers locker room looks like the red carpet of the ESPYs. 

The Rays have their own fun getaway days with their goofy themes. Joe Maddon brought a snake into the clubhouse last year and other times the Rays will do team dress-up days. They have theirs, the Tigers have theirs. 

Hunter and Tigers' pitcher Justin Verlander have an ongoing competition for who looks better on travel days. Hunter began the contest two weeks ago today when the Tigers traveled from Detroit to Arizona for their last west coast swing of the year with a photo of him leaving Comerica Park with the hashtag #lookbetterthanJustinVerlanderDay.

Despite the length of this hashtag, Hunter has consistently posted nothing but his nice suits since then to show his competitiveness with the former Cy Young winner. 

Let me say, I love this and I think it's absolutely hilarious. That's who Torii Hunter is, though. He makes the game exactly that: a game. Sure, it's his fulltime job and baseball is indeed a business, but he keeps it light. Instagram and nice suits are all fun to look at, but at the end of the day, they aren't as important as the play between the foul poles. Aside from his infectious smile and lighthearted play, Torii Hunter is a terrific player who I think has been overlooked throughout his career. 

Now a fresh 39 years young, Hunter has played for only 3 teams in his 17 year career; the Twins, Angels, and Tigers. He's been an All-Star at least once with all of those teams (very spread out too, first in 2002 and most recently in 2013) and has played alongside some of the bigger names of our generation: Big Papi in Minnesota from 1997 to 2002 and Mike Trout 2011 and 2012 and now Miguel Cabrera and his fashion rival Justin Verlander. He's been on some big teams, but has never won a ring.

Hunter's first big league appearance came in 1997 - it is the absolutely definition of a cup of coffee. Hunter came on in an August 22nd game when the Twins were fighting a losing battle to the Orioles (down 3-1 in the 9th inning) and a losing battle to the 1997 season (Twins were 52-74). Hall of Famer and current Twins hitting coach Paul Molitor flew out to center to lead off the 9th. After a Scott Stahoviak walk and Terry Steinbach single, O's starter Scott Erickson was removed from the game to make way for closer Randy Myers, who would eventually retire the next two batters - but a young 21 year old pinch runner Torii Hunter came on and didn't leave first base for the game. He didn't see playing time the rest of the season. 

Hunter would not break rookie status for another two years in 1999 when he hit .255 with 9 home runs and 10 steals. An aggressively average season, and certainly an experience from which he has learned, considering he is now a .279 hitter with a career .466 slugging %, 9 Gold Gloves, and over 2200 hits. 

I reference Mike Trout earlier. Trout is obviously one of the biggest names in the game today, yet referred to Hunter as his mentor. Coming from Trout, who has led the galaxy in WAR the last three years and will have a bevy of MVPs in his future, that is high praise for Hunter. Angels columnist Alden Gonzalez has a full write up here. 

That's what makes Hunter so great. He's great to have on the field, but he's great off the field. Not just from his nice watches and suits, but because he makes the other players around him so much better. I'm not saying Big Papi owes all of his success to Hunter or that Trout should share his awards with Hunter but considering the similarities in their mindset: humility, gratitude, thankfulness to coaches, etc., it is obvious that he rubs off on a lot of young players. I'd be willing to bet that when Austin Jackson's career is said and done, he'll tribute some of his success to Hunter too. We'll see.

Hunter is a great player and an even better person. Here's some of my favorite tidbits:

• His postgame interview last summer when the Tigers and White Sox game got a little chippy.
• In his first All-Star Game, 26-year old Hunter robbing Barry Bonds of a home run after Bonds set the single season home run record.
• His interview with Jim Rome after LeBron James left Game 1 of the NBA Finals this year (warning: colorful material).

Here's to you, TNutts. 

Thanks for reading. 

Jim Leyland's Legacy

Retiring a number is always a huge deal for a franchise. So big in fact that some teams have yet to even retire a number (not counting Jackie Robinson's league-wide 42). The Marlins, only in existence since 1993, are still waiting on their first, though an argument could be made for Pudge. The Rockies technically don't have one retired yet, but with Todd Helton retiring last year, I would be willing to bet my first child's college tuition on him getting his #17 in the proverbial rafters or whatever they will do at Coors Field. The Diamondbacks recently retired Luis Gonzalez's #20 for leading them in almost every offensive category, including World Series walkoff hits. The Expos have a few retired, but the Nationals don't so if you want to get megatechnical on me, then fine, the Nats are still waiting, too.

Now, the Tigers have no shortage of retired numbers, but that doesn't mean the achievement should be taken lightly. So here is my question: should Jim Leyland's number 10 be retired in Detroit?

No.

Here's why.

A) No rings. Before Leyland, the Tigers were the laughing stock of the league. In his first year as manager, Leyland brought Detroit to the World Series, sure, but also brought their first .500 season in 13 years. I was still in diapers in 1993 and didn't even know what baseball was. He also won three straight AL Central titles, including another AL Pennant in 2012. While this is great for Detroit and her fans, there are a few things that need to be noted: the AL Central, other than last year, was an absolute joke. The 2nd best team in the Central in 2011 was the 80-82 Indians. In 2012, it was a slightly closer race, where they squeaked out a title over the 85-77 White Sox, but the third place team was 72-90. The two World Series the Tigers made were quite embarrassing, only winning one game out of nine, and scoring 17 runs in those 9 games. He got them there but couldn't quite take that final step.

B) Managers don't often get their numbers retired. The Tigers 'retired' Sparky's number, but he brought the city a championship and was in Detroit twice as long as Jim. The Mets retired Casey Stengel's 37, mostly as an apology for dragging him out of retirement for coaching the game's worst team ever. As a more recent example, Bobby Cox's was retired for the Braves, but rightfully so. They won 14 out of 15 NL East titles (11 straight), as well as 5 pennants and a World Series. In comparison, Joe Torre doesn't have his number retired by the Yankees, and he brought them 4 World Series and another 3 pennants.

C) Likeability. This is a tough one, but a lot of people blame the inability to win the big game directly on Jimbo. Many put Game 2 of the 2013 ALCS (the bullpen cop game) directly on him. Scherzer was humming and only at 105 pitches, but he went to the bullpen, and....well we know the rest. Leyland was loyal to a fault and because of that, the way he defended his choices made him some enemies. For example, again in the 2013 playoffs, why did Jackson stay at the top of the lineup after setting the ALDS strikeout record? Why did a very offensively capable Brayan Pena not get more playing time over the "we can rebuild him, we have the technology" Alex Avila? Why did Andy Dirks play so much through injury? I can go on and on, and Leyland haters can go on even longer. When his team did not perform, every once in awhile Leyland would snap and go on a rant of how the performance was unacceptable, but the same habits would appear in the clubhouse again a week later. 

I love Jim Leyland, I really do. When he started sobbing and then moonwalked after a Torii Hunter bear hug, I admit I was speechless and shed a tear myself. But the Tigers came too close to winning it all. I genuinely felt physical pain when Koji slammed the door in October last year! 

Okay sorry, I'm getting a little dramatic, but the Tigers never won when it truly mattered. With the last 3 AL MVPs, 2 of 3 CYA, as well as a bevy of wins, strikeouts, and ERA leaders, a title should have been won. While he had a great run in Detroit, unfortunately, it was not great enough. If I had a vote, I wouldn't retire Jimmy's #10. Maybe a memory patch in the shape of a cigarette or something. 

As always, thanks for reading. Here's a picture of Don Kelly and Patrick Leyland at a Steelers game this fall. What a man.