Hunter and the Hunted
As the Baseball Hall of Fame voters reveal their results, Torii Hunter's candidacy appears to tail off in its fifth year. Tragedy, or atrocity?
We use the wrong words all the time. People aren’t literally dying from boredom, and few angsty adolescents are truly starving to death.
When bad things happen, regardless of origin, we refer to them as tragedies. A tragedy is a sad result of happenstance; a natural disaster or someone suffering and dying from an illness. An atrocity, on the other hand, is the result of someone’s agency, threatening, cruelty.
Dick Allen’s election to the Hall of Fame last month via committee was bittersweet and tragic: his impact on the game was outsized for its brevity due to injury, yet he did not live to see this day come. That is where atrocity plays its role: his candidacy was thwarted by old guard electors who failed to recognize his greatness in his time, and also I suspect by those who suppressed support for his election likely because of the color of his skin and his outspokenness at the racial injustice of his time and place (namely, Philadelphia in the 1960s and Chicago in the early 1970s).
It also took too long to get Dick Allen elected by committees, as it did fellow 2025 inductee Dave Parker, as well prior enshrined members such as Ron Santo and, of course, Buck O’Neil.
The line between tragic and atrocious can admittedly be blurry. Which brings us to Torii Hunter, Baseball Hall of Fame candidate.
Andruw Jones has a very vocal support base, and on a level, I get it. The 62.7 bWAR is over the consideration line for me. 434 home runs and a Silver Slugger. The defensive prowess in center and 10 Gold Gloves. Many consider Jones the best centerfielder in recent baseball memory. It’s a compelling argument for a good player, and he will likely win election in time.
Take Jones off those perennial contender Braves teams, though and what do you get Most likely, someone who doesn’t get the grassroots support he enjoys today. At best, you probably get Torii Hunter, who also doesn’t enjoy Jones’ support.
The truth is there isn’t an argument you can make for Jones you can’t also make for Hunter. Both are five-time All-Stars. Jones’ 10 Gold Gloves are virtually equaled by Hunter’s nine. Both featured powerful, accurate arms; I would say Hunter’s was better. Torii even has a second Silver Slugger.
Hunter played for longer and though he didn’t play in as many postseason contests as Jones, was more or less the same player in October (Hunter, .274/.340/.414; Jones, .273/.363/.433). Hunter also didn’t drop off as drastically as Jones did after a decade in the league, playing more consistently and even drawing some MVP votes in his age-37 season in Detroit.
One could reasonably argue that the job was more complicated because he had to play center for a large part of his career at the Metrodome with its awful off-white ceiling. And then there’s the fact that those Twins teams weren’t anything like Jones’ Braves rosters, spotlighting a core criticism of those who use WAR as a governing metric for all-time greatness.
In fact, one could make a case that Torii Hunter is the greatest centerfielder in Twins history, comparing favorably to no less than Kirby Puckett (and carrying far less baggage than either Puckett or Jones, who I was reminded this morning in The Athletic’s Hall of Fame ballot reveal was involved in a domestic violence incident in 2012).
In the absence of clear and obvious evidence, we have to let go of these flawed formulas and selectively-applied axioms. Gold Gloves are being diluted by Juan Soto being named a finalist for the award, while we still don’t have a good way to a quantify and evaluate defense. Pitch framing is becoming a new way to consider catching candidates, which is why Russell Martin (!) is getting some love in his debut on the ballot, in which case, Jonathan Lucroy should probably update his resume for 2026. Peak versus longevity is a convenient fallback for a lot of voters who just don’t want to vote for guys like Hunter. They’d take Jones’ peak while denying Hunter’s longevity? Come on.
Injuries are becoming more and more common. Betting is rampant around the game; another in-the-game scandal is a when, not an if. We’ve already caved on PEDs. There are no more moral highgrounds for the voters to consider.
So, what is it? The 50.7 bWAR? Puckett amassed 51.1. The lack of World Series titles? Jones doesn’t have any, neither does Robin Yount, Tony Gwynn, Ken Griffey, Jr., Adrian Beltre, or the newly-elected Wampum Walloper.
Hunter, as of Tuesday morning according to the guys running HOF Tracker, is polling at 1.3%, behind Ian Kinsler and Brian McCann. That’s ridiculous.
Is it ignorance or pettiness? Is this tragedy, or atrocity? It’s the BBWAA, doing what it does best.
So, yes.