Torii Hunter seeks power, but knows when he's powerless

Bob Nightengale | USA TODAY Sports

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Minnesota Twins right fielder Torii Hunter, stares at the ground, looks away, and slowly starts to speak again.

Hunter, whose ebullient personality has made him one of the most popular players in the game, suddenly grows quiet, speaking in short, staccato sentences.

"It's not good,'' Hunter tells USA TODAY Sports. "Not good. It's not good at all.

"He's relapsed. Again. And it hurts.

"It hurts real bad.''

Hunter's dad, Theotis, 64, hooked on drugs almost as long as Hunter can remember, can't stay clean. There are stretches when everything is fine. Weeks. Sometimes, even months. Inevitably, there's a relapse.

"It's like a demon that takes over you,'' says Hunter, who saw his father twice during the winter. "It grabs a hold of my dad all of the time. Sometimes, we don't know where he is. He went missing for three months last summer.

'Once you're on it, you're never off. It stays with you. That's why I'm praying for Josh right now.''

That's Josh Hamilton, the Los Angeles Angels outfielder, who recently had a relapse in his drug addiction. He met last week with Major League Baseball officials. Commissioner Rob Manfred must determine the length of any suspension, which could be 25 to 50 games.

Everyone has stopped worrying about Hamilton, the ballplayer.

They now worry about Hamilton, the person.

Yes, Hamilton, the drug addict.

"It's tough to see a guy like Josh going through this, he's such a great guy,'' says Hunter, who like Hamilton lives in the Dallas area. "But you always worried about him. He's a good man, and he has Christ in his heart, but he's fighting some monsters right now.

"He's in a fight for the rest of his life.''

There are friends of Hamilton's, such as Texas Rangers consultant Roy Silver, who believe Hamilton should retire from baseball. Maybe that $125 million contract from the Angels changed him. Perhaps if he had just stayed in Texas, and not left his comfortable environment, this wouldn't have happened.

Hunter, speaking only from watching all of the struggles his dad has endured, scoffs at all of the theories.

Hamilton was going to have a relapse no matter where he was, no matter how much he earned, Hunter says, and leaving the game of baseball would be the worst decision he could make.

"This has got nothing do with baseball, and it has nothing to do with money,'' Hunter says. "Drugs don't care who you are.

"Money does not change you. You are who you are. If you are a (jerk) before you have money, you're going to be a bigger (jerk) when you get the money.

"Look, baseball might be the game that saves him. What I noticed with my dad is that when he's busy, and does not have down time, he's good. When he's not busy, he goes straight to it. He feels alone.''

Hamilton, suspended from baseball from 2002 to 2006 with his addiction, has had three off-season relapses since being reinstated. Twice, it involved alcohol, in 2009 and 2012. And now, cocaine, according to the New York Daily News and CBSSports.com.

"My dad used to always say that when he was depressed, or when he thinks that nobody loved him, or felt alone,'' Hunter says, "that's when something would trigger. He'd go back to it.

'"You can go through all of the rehabs, and get all of the help you want, what it all boils down to is, "Do you really want to get away from this stuff.'''

Hunter, 39, who is strongly considering retiring after this season ("unless I hit .300, then I'm going nowhere'') could have spared the Angels any of the Hamilton drama. The Angels simply could have kept Hunter two years ago when his five-year contract expired, but never made a serious offer. He signed a two-year, $26 million contract with the Detroit Tigers. The Angels went out and spent $125 million on Hamilton.

It was a devastating blunder.

Hunter, playing in 286 games, hit .295 with 34 homers and 167 RBI, helped lead the Tigers to two consecutive AL Central titles. Hamilton played in 240 games, hitting .255 with 31 homers and 123 RBI.

"People have been calling me, and bringing that up,'' Hunter says, "but I'm not like that. I'm not going to say, "Look at me. Ha-ha-ha.'

"This is about getting Josh right. It's about getting Josh clean.''

In the meantime, Hunter will be busy himself, trying to restore the Twins' proud franchise. They've lost 383 games the last four years, finishing in last three of the last four years. They hired Hall of Famer Paul Molitor to manage. GM Terry Ryan is back and feeling strong after battling cancer last year. They spent $55 million on starter Ervin Santana.

And, yes, they spent $10.5 million to bring back back their most popular player since Kirby Puckett.

It appeared to be a long-shot, particularly with the Texas Rangers offering $8 million to stay home, and the Kansas City Royals even offered $8.5 million that even included a player-option for 2016, but the Twins stepped up and signed him a one-year $10.5 million contract. The stakes were raised once the Oakland Athletics signed DH Billy Butler to a three-year, $30 million contract, with Hunter simply wanting respect.

Hunter is the oldest position player in baseball, and it's no accident the Twins put his locker next to young outfielders Aaron Hicks and Bryon Buxton.

"I always wanted to come back here,'' says Hunter, who spent the first 14 years of his career in the Twins' organization. "This is where I learned to be a man. When I became a free agent, Terry Ryan and I talked for 1 ½ hours. He made me see things differently. He wants me here forever.''

Hunter, you see, wants to be a GM one day. If he retires after this season, he hopes to work in the Twins' front office, learning under Ryan, while also working in TV.

"I really want to get into that front office, make some changes, and build a team that I want to build,'' Hunter says. "I'd love to learn everything from Terry. He'll be a mentor. One day, that's my goal, to be GM of the Twins.''

Ryan, who advised Hunter not to retire, or make any announcements until he's fully ready, says he'll have a door waiting for him.

For now, Hunter has a season to play, and if this is the final one, he would love Hamilton to be standing in that Angels outfield July 21-23, when the Twins come to Anaheim.

"I have so much love for him,'' Hunter says. "Hopefully, he gets over this thing, gets back to playing some baseball, and I'll see him this summer.

"Believe me, I'm praying for it."

GALLERY: Players ham it up on picture day