Torii Hunter gets first look at Target Field

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)

During his 11 years with the Minnesota Twins, Torii Hunter walked into the shabby Metrodome and went to work under a dingy gray roof, running around on artificial turf with just a little more cushion than concrete.

Hunter and some of his teammates had to buy some of their own equipment to supply the weight room and he joked that the indoor batting cages were made of fish net.

''It was cut throat,'' Hunter said with his trademark cackle.

So imagine his reaction when he pulled up to shiny new Target Field for the first time on Friday night.

''I was like in shock,'' he said. ''I could not believe how beautiful this stadium was.''

When Hunter signed a $96 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels after the 2007 season, it was bittersweet for the gregarious outfielder who was drafted by the Twins as a 17-year-old high schooler from Arkansas. He left the only organization he had ever known, one that he helped revive as a central part of a young core that included Jacque Jones, Corey Koskie and Doug Mientkiewicz.

But he had also grown tired of ownership's frugal ways and didn't hide his disdain for the Metrodome. So he didn't hesitate to accept an offer from the Angels that was more than double what the Twins offered, and he delighted in playing his games in sunny California at beautiful Angel Stadium.

The Twins finally gained approval for a new ballpark in 2006, but it was still just an idea on a piece of paper when he departed for the West Coast.

Target Field opened this season to rave reviews and the Twins have played in front of 58 straight sellout crowds. Manager Ron Gardenhire gave Hunter a tour of the place on Friday afternoon, and Hunter simply couldn't believe it.

''This is better than Yankee Stadium!'' Hunter said.

Hunter became a full-time player in 1999 at the tail end of an eight-year run of losing seasons that drove the fan base away and had Major League Baseball considering eliminating the club. The team was practically on the chopping block in 2001 when Hunter, Jones and the rest of a core who came up together through the minor leagues broke through.

The Twins won the AL Central in 2002 and lost to the Angels in the AL championship series, but have gone on to win four more division titles this decade. All that success helped eliminate the contraction talk and clear the way for the new ballpark.

''This is something that we all dreamed about, me, Koskie, Jacque, Doug Mientkiewicz,'' Hunter said. ''We were fighting for it. We wanted a new stadium so bad it was unbelievable. Now you see the end result of us just playing well and trying to win and try not to be contracted.''

No one remains from that division championship team in '02, but Gardenhire said Hunter and the rest of those players should take pride in the new stadium, even though they don't call it home.

''We went through a rough stretch in the late 90s and these guys finally came up as a young core and kind of got everything going back in the right direction as far as winning ballgames and getting back into playoff pictures,'' Gardenhire said. ''His group was the start of it and Torii was a main cog in it.''

Hunter put his stamp on those teams, both with his stellar play in center field and as a pillar in the clubhouse.

He's been gone for three years now and can barely recognize the organization anymore, and it's not just because of the ballpark. Justin Morneau has an $80 million deal; Joe Mauer signed a $180 million extension in spring training and the payroll has swelled to nearly $100 million, numbers Hunter never dreamed possible.

''This is like night and day compared to when we were playing here,'' Hunter said. ''Wow. A different era, man. This is a new time.''