Hunter: Walk-off has done Crawford wonders

Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said before his team's game with the Red Sox Wednesday night that he has seen an enormous difference in Carl Crawford from when the teams' last met each other, in Anaheim on April 21-24, citing the confidence derived from Crawford's walk-off single Sunday.

"That hit to win the game had to take a lot of weight off his shoulders," Hunter said of Crawford, who entered Wednesday hitting .194. "When he did it I screamed. I was happy for him. When he got the game-winning hit I knew that probably lifted him up. I’ve watched his approach at the plate from last time we played him until now, and now that he has that hit he looks dangerous. He’s probably the best .194 hitter in the league right now."

Hunter said he still hasn't spoken with Crawford since the left fielder signed with the Red Sox, but did admit to previously warning the former Tampa Bay Ray about the challenges that would face him having to switch organizations for the first time. Hunter signed with the Angels following the 2007 season after previously only having played in the Minnesota organization. 

"Carl Crawford had been in that Rays organization for nine years or something like that and that’s all he knew. Even though he is playing the same game and is the same player, he’s like, 'I want them to like me.' It just don’t work out that way right away," Hunter explained.

"It was much tougher than I thought it was going to be. It was definitely tougher. At first I was ready for the challenge. It was baseball. When I got there in spring training I felt comfortable and everybody was happy, but once the season started I wanted to show what I had and that I was that guy who could play good defense, hit for power. So you’re trying to do a lot. You have the weight of the world on your shoulders. ... I told him all this stuff before. It’s there. It’s going to happen until he proved he was going to do something."

When it was suggested fans would be singling out Crawford because the Red Sox got off to a slow start, Hunter quipped, "Yeah, they're going to look for those 142 reasons," citing the outfielder's seven-year, $142 million deal with the Sox.

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