Detroit Tigers’ Torii Hunter wants to teach youngsters – MLB News Update
Detroit Tigers’ new outfielder Torii Hunter loves to be a part of the club. According to a leading sports website, Hunter wanted to be signed by the Tigers as he wanted to give himself the best chance of winning the World Series trophy.
As soon as the season ended, Hunter told his agent that he wanted to have a discussion with the Tigers’ officials to see if he could land in Detroit. His agent did exactly that. Hunter met with Tigers’ General Manager Dave Dombrowski a couple of weeks ago.
Shortly thereafter, he tweeted that he has accepted the two year $26 million offer. There are several reasons why the Tigers showed interest in acquiring his services. Firstly, Tigers’ outfield corner performed poorly last season.
Apart from third baseman Miguel Cabrera and slugger Prince Fielder, none of the hitters could live up to expectations. Signing a decent outfielder was one of Tigers’ biggest concerns this offseason.
"I think Torii Hunter is the type of guy who can help all players, if players are willing to listen," Leyland said Monday afternoon. "But that's not going to be an assignment for him. I think he's one of those guys where it's just natural."
"That will just happen," Leyland said. "But I don't think it's something you ask him to do. We definitely have a two-way player, and the more two-way players you get, it's definitely better for the manager.”
Hunter had one of his career best seasons last year as he hit .313 with 16 home-runs and 92 RBI’s. In addition to being a decent hitter, with nine Gold Glove Awards, Hunter can prove to be an asset for the Tigers in their defensive department.
In his introductory press conference, Hunter talked about how he can help the youngsters in the Minor League, particularly Austin Jackson but Manager Jim Leyland reacted by saying that Hunter should focus on his playing position rather than teaching the
players.
Leyland further added that Hunter has not been signed to do the coaching even that is something he does naturally. It will be interesting to see how well Hunter performs with Tigers as all the fans will be hoping he puts in a good performance for the team.
Tags: