LAKELAND, Fla. — Torii Hunter looked around the Tigers clubhouse at Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Victor Martinez, and he smiled.
“This is the best team I had out here, so I had to come here,’’ Hunter told The Post. “These guys are built to win.’’
Yes, they are.
The Yankees know all about that after being swept away by the Tigers in the ALCS with ex-Yankees lefty reliever Phil Coke and center fielder Austin Jackson playing pivotal roles in the destruction of their former team.
“Knowing the guys on the other side, it was bittersweet,’’ Coke said. “It was absolutely sweet because of the outcome, it was a little bitter because you got good rapport with the other guys, but this is my family now and I’m going to do everything I can for my family.’’
Coke added, with a devilish smile, “Hopefully you’re not former family.’’
Coke’s old baseball family has a multitude of issues while the Tigers, who were swept by the Giants in the World Series, appear to be even better than they were.
Coke has proven to be the real thing. He came back to haunt the Yankees by pitching in all four games of the ALCS, picking up two emergency saves to bail out the Tigers bullpen and not allowing a run over 5 2/3 innings. Jackson batted .353 with a .421 on-base percentage in the four games.
“We’re excited,’’ general manager Dave Dombrowski said. “We think we have a quality club. We have a lot of guys who are driven. They are not taking anything for granted.”
Here are the top five hitters in the Tigers lineup: Jackson, Hunter, Cabrera, Fielder and Martinez. The switch-hitting Martinez missed all of last season following knee surgery. Hunter signed a two-year deal for $26 million.
“We’re adding two quality performers to our lineup,’’ Dombrowski said. “I’m not predicting .330 for Victor, but if he hits somewhere close to .300 with a 100 RBIs, which is pretty much his normal production, not only does it bring a quality at-bat but it gives us a switch-hitter in the middle of the lineup.
“The other thing they do is they bring a tremendous presence to the ballclub. They’re two guys that they don’t force the issue, but they are natural leaders, they bring a nice bounce to the game, to the clubhouse, and they do it naturally. We have a lot of quality guys, but they are kind of a quiet group. These guys change the overall feel. We love having them on board.’’
“Everything has to fall into place,’’ Hunter said of the season. “We have to go out there and perform.’’
The Bombers have received 108 home runs over three years from Curtis Granderson as a result of the three-team trade that sent Coke and Jackson to Detroit after the 2009 season, but the Yankees have not made it back to the World Series since. The Tigers also got nasty right-hander Max Scherzer in the deal.
“More than anything [the ALCS] put us in the World Series,’’ Jackson said. “That’s a good feeling. The big thing for me is that I’m gaining confidence every year. That’s a big thing you have to learn.’’
Said Coke, “Austin and I have been teammates for a long time. He went out and showed everybody his abilities. He’s done nothing but improve. He tore the cover off the ball [last year]. I’m so proud of him and I feed off him.’’
Jackson, 26, is entering his prime. The veteran Hunter, 37, will help him develop.
“We talk all the time,’’ Hunter said. “We talk about life. We talk about sports. We talk about family. I definitely think he is going to be a lot better. He’s a special kid, man.’’
Dombrowski said he believes Jackson will win a Gold Glove soon.
“All along we felt we had a deal that worked out well for us, but it also worked out well for the other clubs,’’ he said of the trade. “It helped provide us with some young players.’’
These Tigers will roar again.