Paul Molitor (2004)


Date of Birth: 8/22/1956
Birthplace: St. Paul, Minnesota
College: University of Minnesota

Paul Molitor, who played for most of his 21-year baseball career with the Milwaukee Brewers, made major league baseball history by becoming the only player to finish his career with 3,000 or more hits, a .300 or greater batting average, 500 or more stolen bases, and 200 or more home runs. He also made World Series history in 1993 by being the only player with at least 2 home runs, 2 doubles and 2 triples in one World Series.

Milwaukee Brewers

Molitor was first drafted in 1974 by the St. Louis Cardinals but he opted for a college education instead. Three years later, he signed with the Brewers and spent the 1977 season in the minor leagues. Molitor was originally a shortstop for the Brewers but later in his career, he played second base and third base, and eventually he became a full-time designated hitter.

In 1978, Molitor's first year in the major leagues, he batted .273 with 142 hits, 26 doubles, and 30 stolen bases in 125 games. He won the Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year award that season. In his second year, he was even better, batting .322 with 188 hits, 27 doubles, a career high 16 triples, 33 stolen bases, and 62 RBIs in 140 games.

Molitor had another strong season in 1980, batting .304 with 137 hits, 29 doubles, 34 stolen bases, and 37 RBIs in 111 games. In the strike shortened 1981 season, he batted .267 in 64 games. The following year, he played in a career high 160 games. He finished the 1982 season with 201 hits, 26 doubles, 19 home runs, 41 stolen bases, 81 RBIs, and a .302 batting average.

Molitor's batting average dropped to .270 in 1983. He finished the season with 164 hits, 28 doubles, 15 home runs, 41 stolen bases, and 47 RBIs in 152 games. He spent most of the 1984 season on the DL with elbow problems, playing in just 13 games with the Brewers. He came back strong in 1985, finishing the season with 171 hits, 28 doubles, 21 stolen bases, 48 RBIs, and a .297 batting average. He again spent time on the DL in 1986, this time with hamstring injuries. He batted .281 in 105 games that year.

In 1987, Molitor won his first Silver Slugger award for batting .353 with 164 hits and 41 doubles in 118 games. He led the AL in doubles that season. He was awarded the Hutch award in 1987.

Molitor received his second Silver Slugger award in 1988. He finished the season with 190 hits, 34 doubles, 41 stolen bases, 60 RBIs, and a .312 batting average in 154 games. For the first time in his career, he had more walks (71) than strikeouts (54). Although his strike to walk ratio dropped in 1989, the rest of his numbers were similar to the previous year. He had 194 hits, 35 doubles, 27 stolen bases, 56 RBIs, and a .315 batting average in 155 games.

Molitor played in just 103 games in 1990. He finished with 119 hits and a .285 batting average. In 1991, he led the AL in hits and triples. He finished the season with a career high 216 hits, 32 doubles, a career high 13 triples, 17 home runs, 75 RBIs, and a .325 batting average in 158 games. He walked 77 times and struck out only 62 times. He had another good season in 1992, batting .320 with 195 hits in 158 games. He again had more walks (73) than strikeouts (66).

Toronto Blue Jays

Molitor became a free agent after the 1992 season and he signed a contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. In his first season with the Blue Jays, Molitor won his third Silver Slugger award, leading the AL in hits with 211, and batting .332 with 37 doubles, 22 home runs, and 111 RBIs in 160 games. That year he also won the World Series MVP and Babe Ruth awards. In postseason play in 1993, Molitor batted .447 with 21 hits, 4 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs, and 13 RBIs in 12 games. He was also rewarded for being a DH, winning his first of two Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter awards.

In 1994, Molitor again played in a strike shortened season. He had 155 hits, 30 doubles, 75 RBIs, and a .341 batting average in 115 games. He struggled somewhat in 1995, batting just .270 with 142 hits in 130 games.

Minnesota Twins

In 1996, Molitor made another team switch and he spent his last three years with his hometown team, the Minnesota Twins. He had a very strong season in 1996, again leading the AL in hits, winning another Silver Slugger award, and winning his second Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter award. He finished the season with career highs in hits (225), doubles (41), and RBIs (113) in 161 games. He batted .341 that year.

Molitor had another good season in 1997, batting .305 with 164 hits in 135 games. He won the Lou Gehrig Memorial award that year. The following season, he won the Branch Rickey award. He batted .281 with 141 hits in 126 games in 1998.

Molitor retired after the 1998 season.

Awards and MLB Records

  • Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year
  • Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter award (2 times)
  • World Series MVP
  • Babe Ruth award
  • Hutch award
  • Lou Gehrig Memorial award
  • Branch Rickey award
  • Silver Slugger award (4 times)
  • Led the AL in hits (3 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Molitor in 21 seasons (1978-1998) in the major leagues include:

  • 13 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 225 in 1996
  • 10 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 41 in 1987 and 1996
  • 13 seasons with 20 or more stolen bases, with a high of 45 in 1987
  • 12 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .353 in 1987

Career batting statistics for Molitor include:

  • 2,683 games played
  • 3,319 hits
  • 605 doubles
  • 114 triples
  • 234 home runs
  • 504 stolen bases
  • 1,307 RBIs
  • 1,244 strikeouts to 1,094 walks
  • .306 batting average
  • .369 on-base percentage
  • .817 OPS

Postseason statistics for Molitor include:

  • 3 postseasons
  • 29 games played
  • 117 at-bats
  • 43 hits
  • 5 doubles
  • 3 triples
  • 6 home runs
  • 3 stolen bases
  • 22 RBIs
  • 15 strikeouts to 12 walks
  • .368 batting average

Post Playing Career

In 1999, Molitor was hired as the bench coach for the Twins. He stayed in that position through the 2001 season. He was hired as the hitting coach for the Seattle Mariners in 2004, and he coached one year with them. He returned in 2005 to the Twins organization, serving as a minor league instructor through 2013.

In November, 2014, Molitor was hired to replace long-time Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. In 2015, his first year as manager, he led the Twins to a second place finish in the American League Central Division. The team finished with 83 wins to 79 losses. The following season, the Twins had a miserable year, finishing with 59 wins to 103 losses. But Molitor turned the team around in 2017, leading them to an AL Wild Card playoff spot with 85 wins and 77 losses. Even though they lost the WC game to the New York Yankees, Molitor was rewarded with the AL Manager of the Year award. The owners of the Twins were also pleased with the results and they gave him a three year extension to his contract.

After the Twins had a disappointing 2018 season, with 78 wins and 84 losses, Molitor was ousted as manager. He was offered a position in baseball operations. In four years, as manager of the Twins, he led the team to 305 wins and 343 losses.

Molitor was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2004 on the first ballot with 85.2% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Paul Molitor
ESPN - Paul Molitor
Baseball Reference - Paul Molitor

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