Torii Hunter Awaiting His Moment

While Minnesota is Twins Territory, I can handle the argument that we share the state with the Vikings and Timberwolves on center stage as well. Considering that notion, the Timberwolves had a pretty special moment last night as Kevin Garnett was welcomed back home to a resounding crowd at the Target Center. He started, the Wolves won, and it seemed cool to like the NBA in this town again. This offseason, the Twins re-signed Torii Hunter. Now the question is when does his moment come?

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Basketball is a sport that allows for one player to be glorified to a little bit higher extent. There are only five guys on the court, and the starting introductions are a routine process prior to every game. The Timberwolves made sure to welcome back Garnett warmly with a pretty cool tribute video, and the whole thing set the Target Center on fire. Baseball however is a different beast.

Torii Hunter has already returned to the fold for the Twins. He has been present down in Fort Myers for Spring Training, and he has already begun contributing to what should be a much improved 2015 ballclub. At some point however, there will be that moment that Twins Territorians define Torii being back. Projecting when that comes is probably a whole different beast.

I think it’s safe to say that Spring Training probably will fail to provide it. After all, Fort Myers is too far for the vast majority of Twins fans to make the trip during the winter. Spring baseball provides the excitement for the season to come, but for the most part, the experience is significantly more laid back. Adding into that, results genuinely don’t matter during the spring, and the Twins will be hard pressed to find Torii hitting a walk off home run or robbing a would be base hit.

Then there’s the return to Target Field. In 2015, the Twins start out on the road before returning home to face the Kansas City Royals on April 13. You can bet that on Opening Day, Torii Hunter will hear a resounding cheer when he is announced as the team’s starting right fielder. Although the home opener is one of the few games starters are announced prior to running on the field, it’s probably not fair to define even that as Torii’s moment.

As Garnett rejuvinated the Timberwolves a night ago, and led them to a victory, it truly felt as though his presence was the difference. That moment is what we will be looking for from Torii Hunter and the Twins. Whether or not it’s a pivotal run taken away by a diving catch (good luck robbing a home run in right field at Target Field), or a walk off home run, you can bet that Torii will have his theatrical moment. When it comes, it will truly feel as if Torii Hunter has returned, and despite being a different player in 2015, you can bet it’s going to come.

Next: Spring Training: Twins To Keep An Eye On

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