Torii Hunter, a veteran of 17 Major League seasons, is still dreaming of playing in his first World Series.
The Detroit Tigers are three wins away from making the Fall Classic and fulfilling his dream.
Hunter was asked why he chose the Tigers when free agency hit after his final year with the Angels in 2012, and he said he had noticed Detroit's talent while visiting Comerica Park last July.
"I hated facing those guys, because we had the battle with [starters Max] Scherzer and Anibal [Sanchez] and [Justin] Verlander and [Doug] Fister," Hunter said. "I looked at that rotation. I know in my past, all my failures in the postseason, that pitching and defense means a lot. The reason I probably failed in the past in the postseason is because we didn't have the pitching. The matchup wasn't there. We had the hitting, we didn't have the pitching. We had the defense, just didn't have the pitching.
"When you have Scherzer, Anibal and Verlander, I looked at that rotation this offseason, and said, 'Hey, this is where I want to be.' You look at Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, Victor Martinez coming back from an injury, I thought the offense is pretty good. It's there. Jhonny Peralta is a free agent, whenever a guy is a free agent they step it up a lot.
"With me, I'm a veteran guy, I made my money. I'm about winning a World Series championship. I'm going to get paid what I'm going to get paid. Whatever the fair amount is, that's what it is. And that's what the Tigers did to me."