Minnesota Twins right fielder Torii Hunter has decided to retire.
The Twins confirmed Monday that Hunter will call it a career. He told the Star Tribune he began the year believing this would be his last in baseball, preferring to focus on his family.
Hunter was still plenty productive at age 40, hitting .240 with 22 home runs and 81 RBIs in 139 games, though his .702 on-base-plus-slugging percentage was the lowest since his rookie season in 1999. He hit .277 with 353 homers and 1,391 RBIs in 2,372 games in 19 seasons with Minnesota, the Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers.
Hunter’s value transcended the field, though, providing tenacity, enthusiasm and guidance for a young team during what turned out to be a one-year farewell with the Twins, who drafted him in 1993 out of Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
