From the Strib:
What did Torii Hunter do after arguably the Twins' worst game of the year? Grab a bat and helmet -- and head for the shower.Posted by Batgirl at July 8, 2005 10:30 AM
The outfielder, with encouragement from catcher Mike Redmond, stripped down to his socks, put on the helmet, grabbed the bat and walked into the shower. It was his attempt to liven up a dead-silent clubhouse Thursday night after an 8-5 loss to Kansas City put the Twins 11 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central.
"Guys were in here acting like their dog died," Hunter said.
So he went into the shower, swinging a bat and making teammates scramble. Still lacking clothes, he then marched down to the coaches room to ask for extra batting practice.
"They said no," Hunter said. "What's wrong with that? That may be the way I do my routine. I don't know what's going on here. When you ask for flips, you should be able to get more BP. If I want to go in there naked, does it matter?
*sigh*
the scary part is that Redmond offered to pitch... naked. now, there's good naked, and there's bad naked. and pitching naked... well, that's just bad naked.
Posted by: kafumbly at July 8, 2005 10:51 AMI don't care about stats or anything else. The guy is trying to carry the team on his back, and he should be considered for AL MVP.
Posted by: Kurtis at July 8, 2005 10:55 AMI agree with Torii. If a man wants to take some BP in a naked state, why on earth would they stop him. It can't hurt (well, it could, what with no cup and all, but that's another matter), and it just might help.
k-bro
Posted by: k-bro at July 8, 2005 11:25 AMk-bro, as we found out earlier, Torii likes to go "free", so to speak, anyway.
I'm still having a hard time focusing on work and I read that a few hours ago.
Posted by: HooliganKat at July 8, 2005 11:29 AMSucking time, or no sucking time, this is the best team in baseball.
That just made me so happy :)
Posted by: CarrieICL at July 8, 2005 11:37 AMOnly good thoughts roaming through my head. About Torii, that is. I'm blocking out the Redmond images! I'd like to help Torii with his batting ANY day! ;)
Posted by: Kelly at July 8, 2005 11:42 AMCarrie - I couldn't agree more.
Posted by: rods at July 8, 2005 11:43 AMAccording to Pioneer Press, the team felt limited by the fact that Torii would have had to walk through an area where fans are to get to batting cages. Now if Torii doesn't care, why should they? I would have volunteered to keep the riff raff away!
Posted by: Dr. Jane at July 8, 2005 11:56 AMThat is just beautiful. They need to find a way to make this happen. I don't want to see it, mind you, but it needs to happen.
NBP (both the player and the action) is fantastic.
Posted by: Nick at July 8, 2005 12:12 PMThe way I see it, it was only a matter of time...
Posted by: mk at July 8, 2005 12:42 PMIf I was a fan, I would much rather see Torii Hunter take Naked Batting Practice than Mike Redmond, but that's just me.
This kind of stuff is why I love Torii. Not only is he a great player, but he's a positive leader.
He'll mow down a catcher for the Bitch Sox (which I still hear about down here in Chicago), call out someone who's crying about injuries and not playing, and even offer to take BP naked to encourage the team and keep the morale out of the gutter.
The man is amazing. I hope he's a Twin for years to come.
Posted by: brent at July 8, 2005 12:49 PMKeeps team morale out of the gutter, yes. I'm afraid it does very little to keep batling minds out of the gutter though.
Posted by: ndtf at July 8, 2005 01:16 PMWell, the batling minds are mostly in the gutter anyway, so Torii decided to make it legitimate.
Thanks for the story. This team will never cease to amuse!
Just Beth
Posted by: Just Beth at July 8, 2005 01:27 PMhow ever did I cope before the Twins and Batgirl?!
Posted by: kafumbly at July 8, 2005 01:32 PMTorii Hunter, I love you.
Posted by: Candace at July 8, 2005 02:46 PMI agree with everything Brent said. Like him, this is why I love Torii. He is just...the greatest!
Posted by: Stacy at July 8, 2005 03:07 PMNo clothes: free
No shoes: free
Naked BP: Priceless
I hope Redmond was wearing protective goggles.
Posted by: Haplo at July 8, 2005 03:17 PMOh, to be a fly on the wall in that shower room...
Love Ya Torii!! ;-)
Posted by: bubblemint at July 8, 2005 03:21 PMNBP Jr! Yay!
Posted by: Hannah at July 8, 2005 03:36 PMI need to become a sports photographer... *sigh*
*wiggles eyebrows*
Posted by: CapitalBabs at July 8, 2005 05:45 PMNBS--Naked-batting sweetcheeks?
Posted by: twink at July 8, 2005 09:31 PMMan - this is why Torii is my boyfriend.
I can only imagine.... (huge evil grin)
Posted by: talldrinkowater at July 9, 2005 02:33 AMTorii gives new meaning to the phrase, "free swinger."
Posted by: frightwig at July 9, 2005 10:54 AMBut, where will it end?? Matthew Lecroy next???!
Just kidding, anything to keep the team loose. Though at my job, I try other motivational techniques.....