Torii Hunter scolded a beat reporter during a news conference on Wednesday to announce his one-year deal with the Minnesota Twins.

The outfielder called the journalist a derogatory word four times near the end of the media session.

A beat reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer-Press asked Hunter about his endorsement of Arkansas Republican Governor-elect Asa Hutchinson in the context of Hutchinson's views and stance opposing same-sex marriage and how that may have affected the veteran's free-agency hunt.

"Hey Mike is kind of a p---k huh? No, seriously, you're a p---k, man," Hunter said. "I don't even know you. You're a p---k. Seriously. Ain't nothing wrong with that man, that's your job. He's definitely a p---k, though."

In a statement later released to a local TV station, the reporter, Mike Berardino, said in part that he was only trying to give Hunter a chance to answer his critics.

"Regardless, I consider the unfortunate matter closed and I look forward to covering Mr. Hunter throughout the 2015 baseball season," Berardino said in the statement.