Torii Hunter: On Angels' wings

TEMPE, ARIZ. — After leaving the Twins to sign the richest contract in Los Angeles Angels history, Torii Hunter couldn't stop raving about his new team, his new owner and his new surroundings.

He even promised to make friends with the Angels' infamous Rally Monkey.

But on the first day of spring training, Hunter paused for a moment in the players' parking lot at Tempe Diablo Stadium.

"I was like, 'Man, I kind of miss the Twins,'" he said. "I didn't know if these guys were going to like me, or if I was going to like them."

Hunter took a deep breath, walked into the clubhouse, and found three incumbent Angels outfielders -- Garret Anderson, Vladimir Guerrero and Gary Matthews Jr. -- waiting for him.

"They were going, 'T-Nutts! T-Hunt! What's up, baby?'" Hunter said. "They gave me love, sat down with me, started cracking jokes.

"And, bam! That [emotion] was gone. That was all within like 10 minutes."

Hunter spent six weeks getting comfortable with his new teammates and new role on a team picked as one of the favorites to reach the World Series.

Now, fate -- or a schedule-maker with a sense of humor -- has brought Hunter back to the Metrodome for Monday night's season opener against the Twins.

"That's the way we expected to open the season -- with Torii, in the Metrodome," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It's just the wrong uniform."

Mutual interest

Hunter, who spent parts of 11 seasons with the Twins, said he used to study the Angels from center field. They reminded him of the Twins, only with more resources.

It was the little things -- baserunners hustling from first to third on a single, etc.

What Hunter didn't know is the Angels were studying him, too.

"For three years, Torii's name's always came up as a guy that would fit our mold," said Angels hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, another former Twin. "He was the big guy we talked about."

Few saw this merger coming. The Angels had signed Matthews to a five-year, $50 million contract just one year earlier, following his All-Star season in center field for Texas.

But after a first-round playoff exit last fall, the Angels were wary of Guerrero, Anderson or Matthews succumbing to injuries. So Angels owner Arte Moreno swooped in and signed Hunter to a five-year, $90 million deal.

"You can say we've got too many outfielders on our team, but we don't," Hatcher said. "We have some other guys that need some rest during the season.

"You can say we're going to have trouble with this. Well, we're not because these guys are professionals and they want to win."

Matthews has welcomed Hunter with open arms, even though Hunter has replaced him in center field.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia plans to rotate the DH role among the outfielders.

"I think you have to have the right players with the right mindset," Matthews said. "I don't know if anyone is really thrilled about DHing. But Torii's a great player, and there's more pros than cons to this, no doubt."

Chasing a ring

Hunter had five-year offers from Kansas City, Texas and the Chicago White Sox.

The Twins made their final offer in late August -- three years for $45 million.

"When you have a lot of teams with five-year deals, and they tell you they've only got three, that's when I knew it was time," Hunter said. "They knew it was time. They knew I wasn't going to sign that."

Moreno met with Hunter personally before closing the surprising deal.

Hunter asked if the team was willing to add payroll at the trade deadline if it needed one acquisition to get over the hump.

"I'm not saying you'd be successful, but would you try?" Hunter recalled asking Moreno. "And he was like, 'Oh, yes. You know I will.'

"He's never had a ring. He wasn't the owner in 2002 [when the Angels won the World Series], and he wants a ring. I love it."

L.A. kind of guy

In Los Angeles, Hunter has the chance to become an A-list celebrity. He has long been a favorite of ESPN's Jim Rome and has made regular appearances on "The Best Damn Sports Show Period."

With Hunter's personality and rising profile, the sky's the limit.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Hunter said. "The first thing is baseball. I'm serious. The money's there, but trust me, I'm hungry for this ring."

Hunter said he's turned down numerous radio requests and endorsement offers since signing his new deal. He'll save most of that for next offseason.

"You don't ever want your teammates to say, 'He's so focused on doing the L.A. stuff, he's not worried about winning,' " he said.

The Angels are built to win. They have a $120 million payroll, about double what the Twins will spend. But injuries to pitchers John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar and Scot Shields show how fragile any team can be.

Matthews sprained his right ankle Monday, but when everyone's healthy, the top of the lineup will go: Chone Figgins, Matthews, Anderson, Guerrero and Hunter.

"I told myself, if I ever become a free agent, this is a place I would consider playing," Hunter said. "Every player wants to play in [Angels Stadium], with that grass. It's 75 degrees every day. Eighty-one home games in L.A., you can't do nothing but be happy about it."

Reunion time

The Twins will honor Hunter with a video tribute before Monday's opener, and on Tuesday he'll be presented his seventh consecutive Gold Glove Award.

"It'll be weird to see him in that [visiting] dugout," said Twins first baseman Justin Morneau. "Every day I've been in the big leagues, he's been on my team."

When Hunter comes up for his first at-bat, it promises to be an emotional moment for Twins fans, who watched him help the team win four division titles over the past six years.

"First at-bat, they'll rock the house," Gardenhire said.

Reunions like this are common in baseball, but on Opening Day it's a little surreal.

Gardenhire said Hunter might as well join the Twins for their pregame meeting, just for old time's sake.

Those meetings always used to end with Gardenhire saying, "Torii, you got anything to add?"

Without fail, Hunter would respond, "Yeah, let's kick some butt!"

It became something of running joke. How many times did it happen?

"Every meeting I've ever had," Gardenhire said.