Not many things leave Torii Hunter speechless, Twins President Dave St. Peter said, but he discovered one late last month when he took part in a conference call with the newly retired Twins outfielder. "Rod Carew informed him he had been elected to the Twins Hall of Fame, and there was a long pause on the other end," St. Peter said. "It was clear how touched he was by the news."
The effect was similar on longtime radio play-by-play man John Gordon, and on Friday the franchise announced that the pair of Twins icons will receive the team's highest honor on July 16 and 17 at Target Field.
"It's special. It caught me off guard," Hunter said of becoming the 19th player elected to the team's Hall of Fame. "I thought, have I been retired five years already?"
Actually, players needed to wait two years after retirement, but that rule was scrapped this winter in hopes of avoiding a third straight season without an induction ceremony. Chuck Knoblauch was elected in 2014, but the team chose not to induct the All-Star second baseman after he was charged with assaulting his ex-wife in Houston, and in 2015 no former Twins received the required 60 percent of votes by an electorate of 66 media members, former players and Twins officials.
The nine-time Gold Glove winner, whose 212 home runs for the Twins ranks fifth in franchise history, was always going to be an easy choice for the honor. And the man whose signature "touch 'em all" call accompanied almost all of those homers was an obvious pick for the 23-member veterans committee, too.
"I was very humbled and quite surprised and, as you can imagine, quite happy," said Gordon, who called Twins games for 25 seasons, the first 13 of them alongside another Twins Hall of Famer, Herb Carneal. "Herb is the only other one, and there have been many very good broadcasters with the Twins over the years, so to be in the company of Herb is a great honor."
Gordon's Minnesota career began in 1987, coinciding with the team's first world championship, after having called Orioles and Yankees games. He retired after the 2011 season.
Hunter was a first-round pick by the Twins in 1993, and was a regular from 1999-2007, earning two All-Star invitations. He left as a free agent following the 2007 season but returned in 2015 for a one-year Minnesota encore, hitting .244, smacking 22 home runs and turning 40 years of age.