Gage: Tigers now 4-0 at home against Twins -- but not lowly Twins
DETROIT -- He's not their teammate anymore, but Torii Hunter is someone the Tigers should still pay attention to.
And judging by how much they conversed with him around the cage before Tuesday night's 2-1 victory in 10 innings over the Minnesota Twins, they do.
Nearly 40 years old (just two months away), and in his 19th major-league season, Hunter had the good sense to know that as bad as the Twins looked the last time they were at Comerica Park, being outscored 22-1 in three games, the long-haul aspect of the season should never be forgotten.
"As far as I know," he said at the time, "it's still 162 games."
Good sense, however, is a trademark of Hunter's -- even when it's camouflaged in activity that would appear to be reckless.
Such as swallowing fire.
Or breaking boards with his head.
The Twins were off on Monday, as were the Tigers, but Hunter used the time and the relatively short distance between Cleveland and South Bend -- then South Bend to Detroit -- to visit his son who plays baseball at the University of Notre Dame.
Teams bond in strange ways, even in college, and it just so happened that while visiting Notre Dame, Hunter joined the so-called fun of a fire-swallowing stunt and breaking a board with his forehead.
As a man of moderation, though, Hunter stopped short of the three boards others were breaking.
While he was a Tiger, Hunter was definitely one of the team leaders because A) he led by example and B) looked for ways to keep the team loose.
I don't know that the Tigers have as much fun as a team without him. One can hope, for their sake, that they do.
But it is part of Hunter's natural leadership qualities, both on the field and off, that he was able to help the Twins stay loose earlier through the worst of times.
They started the season 1-6, but are 17-9 since -- including Tuesday night's loss.
Nobody who saw that first series of the season would have given them a chance of being near the top of the division the next time they visited Comerica Park, but lo and behold, they were only a game behind the Tigers as of the first pitch.
"They're a very athletic team," said manager Brad Ausmus, "and their pitching has been really strong. We've not underrated them."
That's not to say the Twins will stay within striking distance. It would be a wonder if they did -- but it's borderline wondrous they are even now.
Loose teams are hard to predict, however -- and instead of getting tight when things did not go well at the start of the season, the Twins took a cue from Hunter -- and from rookie manager Paul Molitor as well.
As third baseman Trevor Plouffe said of Molitor in the Minneapolis Star Tribune "the first week was tough on him, too. Seeing him keep it loose and confident just resonates with all of us.
"We had Torii doing it as well. When you have two guys like that you respect so much, it's like we get it: We're going to have weeks like that. It just happened to be at the beginning of the season."
One of the ways Hunter has kept it loose for the Twins is to have a post-game celebration as he eventually did with the Tigers -- but not exactly the same.
The player of the game is expected to dance on a table in the clubhouse after a victory while the other players chant and cheer.
There's word that a smoke machine is used as a special effect at home -- all of which takes place before the media are allowed to enter the clubhouse.
Hunter's just doing what he has always done, everywhere he's been. He likes his former teams and they still like him.
"I never asked to be a leader," he said, "and I never will tell you that I was one. I've just been me.
"As a Twin, I'm me. As a Tiger, I was me. But I loved everything about being in Detroit."
And, except for being 0-4 against the Tigers, he loves everything about being back in Detroit -- including what the Twins have already overcome this season.
"Only the strong come out of failure," Hunter said. "And for us to crawl from where we were, the deepest pit, I can honestly say that feels great."
It should.
But on the upside as well as down, it's still a 162-game season.
