The biggest crowd in the Tigers clubhouse Monday was grouped around Torii Hunter, who gave a typically entertaining monologue on his adventures with David Ortiz's grand slam and his spectacular flip over the Fenway Park bullpen fence.
"I'm a little stiff," he said after slowly getting dressed. "I felt like Fred Sanford when I woke up this morning. It starts hurting at my ankles, and it stops at my neck. I've even got a tender spot on my head. I must have hit that somewhere."
His biggest regret, though, was that he didn't make what might have been the greatest catch in postseason history.
"He hit that ball so hard that it just stayed on a line, right in the lights," he said. "I was just running to where I thought it was, and when I finally saw it, it was almost past me, so I tried to reach back and get it. The next thing I knew, I was doing a flip.
"If I could have caught that, we would have been in a great spot to come back 2-0, so I wish I had gotten it."
His teammates, though, stopped caring about the game situation when they saw him fly over the wall.
"I forgot about the score when he went over the fence, because I was afraid he was really hurt," said Austin Jackson, the nearest Tiger to the play. "At that point, I just wanted to get to him and make sure he was OK."
Members of the Red Sox opened the bullpen door to let Jackson in, and some of Detroit's relievers were right behind him.
"That wall has a metal frame, and there's concrete at the bottom, so he went over like that, I was sure he must have hit his head on something," Phil Coke said. "I don't know how he didn't -- I think almost every person would hit their head if they did that, but I guess he didn't. That was pretty impressive."
Hunter did bump his head, and joked that he was too "old-school" for concussion tests before getting serious.
"I could say that, if I forget how to ride a bike in 30 years, that's OK, but I'd be lying," he said. "You can take away anything you want as I get old, but I don't want to mess around with my brain. I want to keep my mind intact."
After viewing the replays, Hunter said he appreciated the help that he got from Boston's relief pitchers and bullpen catchers, as well as his own teammates, but one person did earn his (mock) rage.
"Those guys tried to help human life, unlike that cop," he said, referring to the officer shown throwing his arms up in glee just as Hunter's legs were in the same position. "He's supposed to protect and serve, and he's got his hands up! Help me, then cheer, fool!"
Hunter said that he got about five hours of sleep after Detroit's early-morning arrival, and planned to spend Monday getting treatment on his bumps and bruises. He bristled, though, when he was asked if he would be playing on Tuesday.
"Am I going to play?" he shot back. "Does a bear dook in the woods? Well, not a polar bear, I guess."
So, yes, Hunter will be playing. Unless, in the famous words of Victor Martinez two years ago, he wakes up dead.
