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Twins hire Hunter, Hawkins, Cuddyer as special assistants

Eric Miller / Reuters

The Minnesota Twins welcomed back three familiar faces on Monday, as the team announced the hiring of Torii Hunter, LaTroy Hawkins, and Michael Cuddyer as special assistants.

Hunter, Hawkins, and Cuddyer were long-serving players with the Twins, combining to play 32 seasons before retiring.

The 41-year-old Hunter ended his career in Minnesota after the 2015 season, having won seven of his nine career Gold Gloves with the Twins. He also hit .268/.321/.462 with 214 home runs and 792 RBIs with Minnesota, while stealing 128 bases.

"Everything I learned in the game of baseball pretty much came from the Minnesota Twins," Hunter told reporters, including MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. "So it's an honor to come back."

Hawkins, originally a starter with Minnesota for the first five years of his career, spent nine seasons with the Twins from 1995-2003. During his tenure, he posted a 44-57 record with a 5.05 ERA, and recorded 44 saves over 818 innings.

"I've been a lot of places but my heart has always been in Minnesota," Hawkins said. "I want to give back to the young kids."

The 37-year-old Cuddyer retired after the 2015 season. He spent 15 years in the bigs split between the Twins, Colorado Rockies, and New York Mets. The two-time All-Star won the National League batting title in 2013, appeared in 22 postseason games with the Twins, and owned a lifetime OPS of .805.

"The Twins have always been in my heart," Cuddyer explained. "I was fortunate to come up with guys like Torii and LaTroy leading the way."

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