Why do I feel like the Twins will resign Torii? Well for starters, this is his home. He's been with the Twins organization for 14 (going on 15) years. He was drafted with the Twins first pick back in the 1993 draft. This is the only team that Torii has been with and I don't think he truly wants to leave behind all his friends that he's made along the way. Last week, he was asked about some of the fans that he has relationships with, and said that it'll be part of the hardest things having to say goodbye to them.
Yesterday, he was quoted as saying that his goal is to be a Twin as the Twins open their new stadium. In the same article, he also said that his heart is in Minnesota and with the Twins.Here's some of what he said:
"That definitely is my goal, and you never know," Hunter said Sunday. "Everybody's talking about the goodbyes and different things like that. You never know, the Twins might step up and they come in and save the day. But at the same time, you've got to say your goodbyes because you never know what's going to happen.
"It's still a business, anything can happen. And it was tough, man, walking into the stadium [Sunday] ... saying goodbye to everybody that I see on my way to the clubhouse."
"I mean, this is a business and I understand that, but at the same time my heart is here in Minnesota and as a Twin. So whatever happens, man, I get to play the game of baseball no matter what, but my heart is here in Minnesota. If not, then I get to play the game, which I really love."
He also goes on to contradict his previous reports of being interested in playing with the Texas Rangers, saying:
"That's what they say, but I don't favor Texas," he said. "My family doesn't even favor Texas, but we're just going to kind of wait and see."
Torii has watched his friends come and go, he has been with the Twins through the best of times as well as the worst of times. He stuck with the Twins through talk of contraction. He has been the emotional leader out on the field, as well as in the clubhouse. He's the face of the team and although he's likely going to get a very large contract, I think the Twins will not let him leave under any circumstances. The team didn't allow Kirby Puckett walk away in 1992, offering him the second largest contract in baseball history (which has obviously been surpassed by many), and I don't think that Carl Pohlad and the Twins will let Torii Hunter slip away either.
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