Twins great Torii Hunter going with flow in retirement

For all the musing that Paul Molitor has done about how the Twins clubhouse atmosphere misses Torii Hunter's exuberance, it probably is no surprise that Hunter misses the clubhouse, too.

"You can't find that anywhere else in the world," Hunter said of the fraternal informality of the locker room. "It's pretty cool to be in that clubhouse. I miss it. There were always jokes; we had real talk sessions about marriage, financial literacy, about life. … We tried to pick each other up."

The Twins, amid one of the worst seasons in franchise history, could use some picking up. Hunter, on the other hand, said he is thriving in retirement. He is involved with the Clubhouse Investment Club, a firm that helps athletes and professionals invest their earnings. He has begun a development company, too, and is looking for more ways to occupy his time.

Perhaps Hunter will find a job in baseball eventually, but "right now I'm just flowing," he said. "I still love baseball, it's still in me. I retired from the game of baseball, but I'm still a man. I've got to work."

This weekend, though, he is back at Target Field to be honored for all the work he has already done for the Twins franchise. Hunter will be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame before Saturday's game, an occasion that he already knows will be emotional. "There's a 10 percent chance I might tear up," the longtime center fielder said. "OK, maybe 80 [percent]."

Longtime radio broadcaster John Gordon will be inducted Sunday, giving the Twins a chance to hold an actual Hall of Fame weekend, after two seasons without one. Chuck Knoblauch was never inducted, because of a domestic violence arrest, after being elected in 2014, and no former Twin was elected in 2015. That lack of candidates convinced the Twins to waive the waiting period in Hunter's case.

All of which will make this a memorable weekend, said Hunter, who turns 41 on Monday.

They're happy about it, too. "He deserves it. He's a great player and a great person," said Byron Buxton, one of the heirs to Hunter's legacy in center field. "He helped me a lot."

He helped his manager, too. "He added exponentially to the enjoyment of managing the team," Molitor said of the 2015 season, when Hunter batted .240, smacked 22 home runs and introduced the concept of dance parties to the Twins clubhouse. "Just his personality, his leadership — and he certainly played well."

Now Hunter just plays golf, he said, and watches his children forge their own athletic success. Torii Hunter Jr. was drafted last month in the 23rd round by the Angels and plans on pursuing a baseball career — after playing his senior season of football at Notre Dame as a wide receiver.