Over the last few days, as his tenure with the Angels has reached what could very well be its final few weeks, Torii Hunter has paid extra attention to the posters in the right-field bleachers at Angel Stadium.

"I saw a big one the other day," Hunter beamed. "You know they have 'Toriitown,' the big cardboard things, fans standing in a row? Well they had another one one day that said, 'Keep Torii,' and I just thought that was special. And now I hear about the T-shirts [with the same message]. I'm very thankful, man. I go out there and play hard, and people respect my game, the way I treat people and the way I approach the game. I think people see that. And I'm thankful that they see that. But it's all up to the Angels."

Technically, whether or not the 37-year-old Hunter returns to the team he's spent the past five seasons of his sparkling career with is a mutual decision.