"Torii Hunter stood before his locker in a corner of the Angels clubhouse Thursday afternoon and joked about getting some T-shirts made.

"They're going to say OG on them," he said, drawing a line across his chest with an index finger. "That's supposed to stand for Original Gangster. But mine are going to stand for Old Goat."

A couple of hours later Hunter showed that, old or not, this goat is not ready to be put out to pasture just yet, collecting two hits, including a long fourth-inning home run to start the Angels on their way to a 4-2 season-opening win over the Kansas City Royals.

While Jered Weaver set the mood on the mound, holding the Royals to two singles by Melky Cabrera through 61/3 innings, it was Hunter who led the way everywhere else. Not only did his fourth-inning home run give them a lead that they never relinquished, but he also stifled a potential Royals rally in the sixth with a spectacular diving catch of a Mike Aviles' fly ball just inside the right-field line.

"My whole career, that's what I always wanted to be," he said. "That guy, that table-setter. That guy that sets the tone and makes everything go."

Last summer's move to right field led some to whisper that Hunter had lost a step, that his game was in decline. It's a quiet criticism that Hunter now uses as motivation — even after driving a full-count pitch to the base of the scoreboard in center field more than 440 feet away.

"I still go out and play and I play hard. I've still got it," spat Hunter, who at 35 is the Angels' second-oldest regular. "No matter if I have a bad day or not, I'm going to push that other guy to have some fun and play the game. Maybe he'll help us win.""