Twins' Torii Hunter: baseball's most exciting outfielder: with four Gold Glove Awards and a series of outstanding highlight reels to his credit, Minnesota center fielder excels at his position.

TORII HUNTER HAS MADE A career out of turning the difficult into the routine.

The Minnesota Twins center fielder is as well known for being a staple of ESPN's web gems features than he is for being the boisterous catalyst behind the Twins' three straight American League Central titles. He's a player who spends as much time in the Metrodome stands, hauling in potential home runs, as he does in the field, shooting down base runners who dare to test his arm.

With four consecutive Gold Gloves, with a fifth being etched with his name for the 2005 season, Hunter is arguably the best defensive outfielder in baseball.

Talk about turning the difficult into the routine: On May 8, Tampa Bay Devil Ray Carl Crawford lined a shot towards the gap in left-center. Hunter had been shading him towards right field and took off in a hurry. With two Devil Rays heading to score and the speedy Crawford looking at an easy double and a likely triple, Hunter raced about 40 yards to make a lunging, backhanded grab, nixing the Devil Rays rally which ended in an 8-6 win for the Twins.

That's what Hunter has been doing since he broke into the majors on a full-time basis in 1999. His highlight reel is becoming legendary.

There was the catch he made on May 17, 2003 that solidified the Gold Glove before the season was barely underway. Carlos Lee of the Chicago White Sox came to the plate with two runners on and the White Sox trailing 20 in the seventh. Lee hit a ball deep into the Metrodome seats in center field, but Hunter pulled the ball back, leaping to grab the ball nearly three feet over the fence. The Twins held on for a 3-1 win.

"I couldn't even believe I caught that one," Hunter said. There was the blatant robbery he made of Barry Bonds in the 2002 All-Star Game. Hunter, elected as a starter, went to the wall at Milwaukee's Miller Park and robbed Bonds of a certain home run. Bonds grabbed Hunter in a playful bear hug as Hunter raced off the field, beaming cheek to cheek.