Major League Baseball

Twins' 39-year-old Hunter tries, fails to steal home vs. Royals

Published Apr. 23, 2015 4:45 p.m. ET

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Lindsey Foltin

There are a number of things a 39-year-old ball player should not try to do and unfortunately for Torii Hunter, that includes stealing home plate.

The Twins outfielder was feeling aggressive during Wednesday's game against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium and tried to pull off one of the most difficult feats in the game.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the second, Hunter tried to catch Royals pitcher Jeremy Guthrie off guard by taking off down the third base line in an attempt to steal home.

It did not end well.

We're not sure what Hunter was thinking. Maybe the young, feisty Royals had him feeling inspired, as he clearly tried to relive his younger, more athletic days. After all, Hunter did actually steal home plate once before -- 13 years ago.

"I said if he doesn't look at me, I'm going, and he didn't, so I took off," Hunter told reporters after the game. "I saw a weak link there with his slow delivery, but he kind of sped it up and short-armed the ball. He threw it in the dirt and it was right there for [Salvador] Perez, who has a Gold Glove. But if he throws it anywhere up I'm safe."

Turns out even manager Paul Molitor approved of Hunter's decision.

"I gave him a little nod and I wasn't sure if he took me seriously, but he did," Molitor said, according to Yahoo Sports. "So it was a weird play. It was obviously a sped-up delivery once Guthrie saw what was going. It was awkward with him not getting his foot down before he released the ball. I wanted to get an explanation on a balk."

(h/t Yahoo! Sports)

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