1975
Born July 18, 1975
Pine Bluff, AR, USA
Torii Hunter Marquee
b. July 18, 1975 · Minnesota Twins 1997–2007, 2015, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2008–2012, Detroit Tigers 2013–2014
He won nine consecutive Gold Gloves in center field, from 2001 to 2009, and is remembered as much for one catch as for any of them: at the 2002 All-Star Game he reached over the fence to take a home run away from Barry Bonds, who picked him up and carried him a few steps afterward.
Nineteen seasons gave him 2,452 hits, 353 home runs, 1,391 runs batted in, 195 stolen bases and a .277 average, with five All-Star selections and two Silver Sluggers. Eleven of those seasons were in Minnesota, then five with the Angels and two in Detroit.
He won the Branch Rickey Award in 2009 and the players' Man of the Year in 2007, both for work away from the field. The writers have had him on five ballots since 2021 and he has not gone above 10 percent, which is the usual verdict on a career made of defense and durability rather than peaks.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 5 | 2002, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013 |
| Gold Glove | 9 | 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 |
| Player of the Week | 3 | 2005, 2006, 2012 |
| Silver Slugger | 2 | 2009, 2013 |
| Branch Rickey Award | 1 | 2009 |
| MLB Players Choice Man of the Year | 1 | 2007 |
| Player of the Month | 1 | 2002 |
| This Year in Baseball Defensive Player of the Year | 1 | 2002 |
| This Year in Baseball Play of the Year | 1 | 2002 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 2002 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | MIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1998 | MIN | 6 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .235 |
| 1999 | MIN | 135 | 384 | 52 | 98 | 17 | 2 | 9 | 35 | 26 | 72 | 10 | .255 |
| 2000 | MIN | 99 | 336 | 44 | 94 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 44 | 18 | 68 | 4 | .280 |
| 2001 | MIN | 148 | 564 | 82 | 147 | 32 | 5 | 27 | 92 | 29 | 125 | 9 | .261 |
| 2002 | MIN | 148 | 561 | 89 | 162 | 37 | 4 | 29 | 94 | 35 | 118 | 23 | .289 |
| 2003 | MIN | 154 | 581 | 83 | 145 | 31 | 4 | 26 | 102 | 50 | 106 | 6 | .250 |
| 2004 | MIN | 138 | 520 | 79 | 141 | 37 | 0 | 23 | 81 | 40 | 101 | 21 | .271 |
| 2005 | MIN | 98 | 372 | 63 | 100 | 24 | 1 | 14 | 56 | 34 | 65 | 23 | .269 |
| 2006 | MIN | 147 | 557 | 86 | 155 | 21 | 2 | 31 | 98 | 45 | 108 | 12 | .278 |
| 2007 | MIN | 160 | 600 | 94 | 172 | 45 | 1 | 28 | 107 | 40 | 101 | 18 | .287 |
| 2008 | LAA | 146 | 551 | 85 | 153 | 37 | 2 | 21 | 78 | 50 | 108 | 19 | .278 |
| 2009 | LAA | 119 | 451 | 74 | 135 | 26 | 1 | 22 | 90 | 47 | 92 | 18 | .299 |
| 2010 | LAA | 152 | 573 | 76 | 161 | 36 | 0 | 23 | 90 | 61 | 106 | 9 | .281 |
| 2011 | LAA | 156 | 580 | 80 | 152 | 24 | 2 | 23 | 82 | 62 | 125 | 5 | .262 |
| 2012 | LAA | 140 | 534 | 81 | 167 | 24 | 1 | 16 | 92 | 38 | 133 | 9 | .313 |
| 2013 | DET | 144 | 606 | 90 | 184 | 37 | 5 | 17 | 84 | 26 | 113 | 3 | .304 |
| 2014 | DET | 142 | 549 | 71 | 157 | 33 | 2 | 17 | 83 | 23 | 89 | 4 | .286 |
| 2015 | MIN | 139 | 521 | 67 | 125 | 22 | 0 | 22 | 81 | 35 | 105 | 2 | .240 |
| Career | — | 2372 | 8857 | 1296 | 2452 | 498 | 39 | 353 | 1391 | 661 | 1741 | 195 | .277 |
On this day & linked events
1997
Major-league debut: Torii Hunter
Torii Hunter made a major-league debut on August 22, 1997.
2009
Torii Hunter's Three-Home-Run Game, 2009
Torii Hunter hit three home runs for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim against the San Diego Padres on June 13, 2009.
2015
Final major-league game: Torii Hunter
Torii Hunter played a final major-league game on October 3, 2015.