LAKELAND, Fla. -- Cedric Hunter very much remembers his first and only big league moment.
It happened in the bottom of the sixth inning on April 5, 2011, at Petco Park. Hunter stepped into the batter's box as a pinch-hitter against Giants right-hander Guillermo Mota, who threw him a first-pitch sinker. Hunter laced the 92-mph pitch into center field for his first Major League hit in his third Major League game. Hunter's Padres teammates got the ball back. It was supposed to be a priceless memento from a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
"I never got the ball," Hunter said after Monday's 4-3 victory over the Tigers in a Grapefruit League game at Joker Marchant Stadium.