Jim Souhan: No room for louts in minds of Twins

Jim Souhan
Star Tribune

FORT MYERS, FLA. -- Randy Moss embarrassed the Vikings periodically for seven years. Had he played for the Twins, Moss might not have lasted an hour, not after meeting a former high school safety who called himself "The Sandman."

"There's no way we could have a Randy Moss in here, or we'd fight every day," center fielder Torii Hunter, the former "Sandman," said. "I'm not going to come in here and have this guy become a reflection on all of us."

Hunter nodded at Twins right fielder Jacque Jones, sitting nearby in the Twins' spring training clubhouse. "We're not going to let that happen," Hunter said. "If Jacque and I ever leave, then maybe you'll have those problems. But for now, we'll keep things straight. Randy Moss would have to go through the board, and the board is sitting right here."

Talent is vital in pro sports, and Moss helped the Vikings reach the NFC Championship Game twice, just as Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell helped the Timberwolves to the conference finals last year.

But there is problematic talent, and there is tolerable talent. The Twins have positioned themselves to win championships by amassing tolerable talent -- good players who are good teammates.

If you spent the winter watching Moss, Sprewell and Cassell embarrass themselves and their teams, walking into the Twins' clubhouse in Fort Myers is as invigorating as an oxygen bar.

Friday, the day before they were required to take the field, Hunter and Jones worked out on a rainy morning, then lounged in front of their lockers, teasing teammates, signing autographs for children and chatting with clubhouse workers.

Johan Santana is the Twins' best pitcher, Brad Radke is the team's elder statesman and Joe Mauer is the future.

Hunter and Jones are the Twins' bouncers, the on-field extension of an organizational philosophy intended to cull wheat and burn chaff.

"If Sammy Sosa came over here, we'd have to check him, too," Hunter said. "I'd say, 'Man, you can't come around our clubhouse acting like that.' "

Moss and Sosa made headlines in the past six months by departing early -- Moss from FedEx Field in a key loss at Washington; Sosa from the Chicago clubhouse during his last game in a Cubs uniform.

"A lot of big-name guys, they go to another organization, then they find guys who are problems like that, so they put up a wall and act the same way," Hunter said. "We don't let that happen here. We keep talking to you until you start smiling and having fun. And if you don't, then we might have to fight.

"If you think you're bigger than the team, then you shouldn't be here. And they [the Twins] see that, and get rid of guys like that."

Careful drafting, minor league grooming and clubhouse vigilance -- not to mention payroll restrictions that prevent the pursuit of players like Sosa -- usually keeps problem players from the Twins' clubhouse.

When players become headaches, the Twins use trades the way the rest of us use Advil.

When Chuck Knoblauch asked for a trade, the Twins made the deal that helped rebuild the franchise.

When catcher A.J. Pierzynski drove the staff nuts, he was traded as soon as Mauer was viewed as ready.

When first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz tried to torment manager Ron Gardenhire to force a trade last summer, it worked, even though the Twins received a Class A pitcher in return.

"We knew Doug; we could go and talk to Doug," Hunter said. "Well, he wouldn't listen at first, but he would after a while. And A.J. did most of his stuff to the other team. They played hard."

Said Jones: "If you play hard and have fun, you'll be fine here. You can cause problems for yourself -- just don't cause problems for the team."

Hunter nodded. "It's all about team. If you start walking off the field, or leaving a game without permission, that's stupid. It's a reflection on us. You're saying you don't want to be a part of us.

"You leave early, that lets me know about you. I'm going to check you. I'll come to you in a nice manner, but if you raise your voice, then we're going to go at it. I don't care how big or small you are. I'm from the 'hood."

Yet he treats the Twins' clubhouse like it's a gated community and he's the security.

"Fortunately for us, we have some guys that understand about being role models," Gardenhire said. "The Torii Hunters, with the smiles on their faces, they handle themselves very well."