Angels hire former player Torii Hunter as special assistant to the GM

The Los Angeles Angels announced over the weekend that former player Torii Hunter has joined the organization as a special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian. 

“It means a lot,” Hunter said, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. “This is a team that when I was in Minnesota and was a free agent, they adopted me and brought me in and treated me like a king here.”

Hunter, now 48, played in the big leagues from 1997 to 2015. He began his career with the Twins and was with that club through the 2007 season, but he signed with the Angels and stayed with the team for the 2008-12 campaigns. 

He then spent two years with the Tigers before returning with to the Twins in 2015.

Those five years that he spent with the Halos seem to have led to a strong relationship with the organization that continues to this day. The club had a managerial vacancy in the fall after parting ways with Phil Nevin, and Hunter appeared to get serious consideration for the gig. 

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported at that time that Hunter is “tremendously regarded” by Angels owner Arte Moreno, though the job eventually went to Ron Washington.

From there, the club seemed interested in making Hunter first base coach, but he declined to be considered for that position, citing his non-baseball commitments to business pursuits such as barbecue restaurants and cafes, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. 

Now, he will join the club in this special assistant role with unknown responsibilities, though the workload presumably allows him to be involved with the club but without having to travel with the team for the entire season, as he would have to do if he were part of the coaching staff.

Hunter played in 2,372 games in his career, collecting 2,452 hits, including 353 home runs.