Torii Hunter

Torii Kedar Hunter is a professional baseball player currently signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball (MLB). Hunter was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on July 18, 1975.

Hunter was drafted right out of highschool by the Minnesota Twins in 1993, but it was four years later, on August 22,1997, when he made his debut as a pinch runner for the Twins. He became a squad regular by 1999, appearing in 135 games where in 292 chances in the field, he made only one error.

In 2001, Hunter became the franchise leader in three categories: At Bats, Home Runs, and Outfield Assists. He also placed second in Runs Batted In (RBI's ) and Total Bases. His performance helped the team to their first winning season since 1992. That season, he was awarded his first (of eight consecutive) Rawlings Gold Glove.

On October 10, 2006, Minnesota exercised their $12 million franchise option on the defensive specialist for the 2007 season. After the season, Hunter turned down the new three-year, $45 million contract by the Twins and signed a five-year, $90 million contract offered by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on November 21, 2007.

Hunter is regarded as one of the elite fielders in MLB. He has won eight Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, consecutively from 2001 to 2008. He has been labeled "the Daily Web Gem" by ESPN commentators, due to his frequent appearances in Baseball Tonight's segment "Web Gems", which highlight spectacular defensive plays followed by viewer internet voting. His fielding prowess is said to have robbed batters from many home runs throughout his 11-year baseball career. To the media's delight, "climbing over the fence" in the outfield is a regular occurence. Arguably, he is one of the most exciting figures to watch in baseball.

During the 2002 All-Star game, in a display of athleticism, he scaled the right field wall and snagged a potential homer from Barry Bonds. Afterwards, Sammy Sosa dubbed him "Spider-Man".

On June 6, 2007, Hunter appeared in headlines nationwide when he made various comments on a national radio show which could be viewed as "bigotry". The statement was regarding the proliferation of Latino players in MLB, which he said, restricts opportunities for Black-American players.

He stated on Fox Sports Radio:

"You can go to Latin America and get that same talent as a black player in Compton and [sic] if he's in Compton he gets drafted in the first round he's going to get two million dollars. If he doesn't pan out [sic], you're out two million dollars but if you go to the Domincan, Cuba, or whatever and you can get a guy for two thousand dollars and he doesn't pan out you're only down two thousand dollars. I do agree that, you know 10 years from now you'll see no blacks, at all"