Torii Hunter, blessed with one of the best outfield arms in baseball, spent much of this season lobbing the ball back into the infield on base hits, rarely challenging runners. He had no choice after he injured his throwing arm in a game May 1.
Hunter told the Pioneer Press Friday his arm wasn't right for two months after he ran into the outfield wall chasing a fly ball.
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“I put a knot in it,” Hunter said. “I couldn’t throw for May and June. Then it kind of went away at the end of June. It wasn’t the labrum, but it took awhile.”
The 40-year-old said his arm is fully recovered now, thanks in part to the Twins training staff.
The revelation about his injury came to light by accident Friday, after he threw out two base runners who tested him in the Twins 6-2 victory.
“It’s been awhile since somebody tested my arm,” he said. “It was a lot of fun that they were testing it today and I was able to let loose and throw. I don’t remember the last time I even had attempts to even do that.”
Hunter now has 131 career assists, second among active outfielders behind Carlos Beltran, who had 138 entering Saturday.