Paul Molitor

Information about Paul Molitor

Paul Molitor
Enlarge picture
Paul Molitor
Designated Hitter
Batted: RightThrew: Right
MLB Debut
April 7, 1978 for the Milwaukee Brewers
Final game
September 27, 1998 for the Minnesota Twins
Career Statistics
Batting Average    .306
Home Runs    234
Hits    3319
Teams
Career Highlights and Awards
Paul Leo Molitor (nicknamed Molly or The Ignitor) (born August 22, 1956 in St. Paul, Minnesota) is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, elected in 2004, his first year of eligibility. He played for 21 seasons, with the Milwaukee Brewers (1978-1992), Toronto Blue Jays (1993-1995) and Minnesota Twins (1996-1998).

Molitor played several positions during his career. He started out as a shortstop, then moved to second base when the briefly-retired Robin Yount returned. Molitor then was moved to third base at the age of 25. During the latter half of his career, he was used primarily as a designated hitter. He also played games at 1B and in the outfield. He played 44% of his career games as a DH.

During the early years of his career, he began using cocaine and marijuana. He claims that he stopped using drugs in 1981, and he has since visited schools to preach of the dangers of drug use. [1]

Molitor acquired a reputation for being less than durable. He once dislocated a knuckle when he got it stuck in another player's glove. Only in eight of Molitor's 21 seasons was he able to play as many as 150 games.

Molitor was part of a young Milwaukee Brewers team that lost the 1982 World Series in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. Molitor batted .355 during the series. In Game 1 of the '82 Series, he had five hits, which set a Major League record. During the '82 season, he hit .302 and led the American League with 136 runs scored. Molitor also attracted national media attention during his 39-game hitting streak, which ended with "Molly" in the on-deck circle when Rick Manning got a game-ending hit to beat the Cleveland Indians on August 26, 1987. Fans booed Manning for driving in the winning run and thus depriving Molitor of one last chance to reach 40 games. The streak continues to stand as the fifth-longest in modern-day baseball history, and remains the longest since Pete Rose's 44 game hit streak in 1978. [2]

Molitor was acquired through free agency by the Toronto Blue Jays in December 1992 and was a key part of the Blue Jays second World Championship. Molitor won the World Series MVP Award and tied a World Series record by batting 12-24 (.500) for a 6 game series.

He left the Blue Jays after the 1995 season and joined his home town Minnesota Twins for the final three seasons of his career. Molitor relished his opportunity to play with Twins superstar Kirby Puckett, but as fate would have it, Puckett developed glaucoma during spring training in 1996 and never played another game. In 1996, Molitor became the first 40-year-old to have a 200-hit season (225).

Molitor's lifetime statistics include 2,683 games played, 1,782 runs scored, 3,319 hits, 234 home runs, 1,307 runs batted in, a .306 batting average, and 504 stolen bases. He batted .368 in 5 postseason series and was an all-star seven times. He was also the first and, so far, only member of the 3,000-hit club to reach 3,000 with a triple. Molitor recorded these statistics while missing nearly 500 games due to various injuries throughout his career.

On June 11, 1999, the Brewers retired Molitor's uniform number 4. During the ceremony at Milwaukee County Stadium, Molitor announced that if he went into the Hall of Fame, he would do so as a Brewer. On January 6, 2004, he was elected to the Hall in his first year of eligibility, with 85.2% of the votes. True to his word, he joined Robin Yount as the only Hall of Famers to be depicted on their plaques with Brewers caps.

In 1999, Molitor ranked No. 99 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and he was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Yount also was a finalist for the All-Century Team but did not make the final roster.

Molitor is one of only four players in major-league history with at least 3,000 hits, a .300 lifetime batting average, and 500 stolen bases. The other three are Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and Eddie Collins. Molitor is the only player ever to accomplish those feats and hit at least 200 home runs. Molitor also is the first man in World Series history to have at least two home runs, two doubles, and two triples in one series (1993).

See also

Enlarge picture
Reverse side of Paul Molitor's 1989 Topps baseball card

External links


 •  • [ e]
Toronto Blue Jays 1993 World Series roster
1 Tony Fernndez | 2 Rob Butler | 4 Alfredo Griffin | 9 John Olerud | 10 Pat Borders | 12 Roberto Alomar | 19 Paul Molitor | 21 Willie Caate | 24 Rickey Henderson | 25 Devon White | 27 Randy Knorr | 28 Al Leiter | 29 Joe Carter | 30 Todd Stottlemyre | 31 Duane Ward | 33 Ed Sprague | 34 Dave Stewart | 40 Mike Timlin | 41 Pat Hentgen | 48 Mark Eichhorn | 49 Tony Castillo | 50 Danny Cox | 66 Juan Guzmn
Manager Cito Gaston
 •  • [ e]
Major League Baseball | MLB All-Time Team
Lou Gehrig • Rogers Hornsby • Honus Wagner • Mike Schmidt (Infielders) • Johnny Bench (Catcher) • Paul Molitor (Designated hitter)
Ted Williams • Willie Mays • Babe Ruth (Outfielders) • Walter Johnson • Sandy Koufax • Dennis Eckersley (Pitchers) • Casey Stengel (Manager)
 •  • [ e]
3000 hit club
designated hitter (often shortened to DH) is an official position adopted by Major League Baseball's American League in 1973 that allowed teams to boost sagging offensive performances by designating a player to bat in place of the pitcher.
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April 7 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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Milwaukee Brewers Established 1969 Based in Milwaukee since 1970

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Minnesota Twins Established 1901

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Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively. The two statistics are related, in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.
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home run is a hit in which the batter is able to circle all the bases, ending at home plate and scoring a run himself (along with a run scored by each runner who was already on base), with no errors by the defensive team on the play which result in the batter advancing for extra
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hit (denoted by H), sometimes called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice.
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Milwaukee Brewers Established 1969 Based in Milwaukee since 1970

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Toronto Blue Jays Established 1977

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Minnesota Twins Established 1901

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The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by fan vote for the starting position players and by the respective managers
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World Series is the championship series of Major League Baseball and the culmination of the sport's postseason each October. Since the Series takes place in mid-autumn, sportswriters many years ago dubbed the event the "Fall Classic". The St.
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The World Series MVP Award is given to the player who most contributes to his team's success in the World Series. The award was originally given by the editors of SPORT magazine, but is now decided by a combination of media members, Major League Baseball officials, and fan voting.
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The Branch Rickey Award is given annually to a Major League Baseball player in recognition of their exceptional community service. The award is named for former player and executive Branch Rickey, who is best known as the President and General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and
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The Hutch Award is a Major League Baseball award given to an active player who best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire to win. The award was created in 1965 in honor of Fred Hutchinson, the former major league baseball player and manager, who died of cancer at
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Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul on the Mississippi with the Capitol building to the right, the Minneapolis skyline in the distance, and a 19th century home in the foreground, taken from Indian Mounds Park

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National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, is a museum operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of baseball-related artifacts
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Milwaukee Brewers Established 1969 Based in Milwaukee since 1970

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  • National League (1998–present)

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Toronto Blue Jays Established 1977

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Major league affiliations
  • American League (1977–present)
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Minnesota Twins Established 1901

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Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most
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Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base.
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Robin R. Yount (born September 16, 1955 in Danville, Illinois) is a former Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career with the Milwaukee Brewers (1974-1993). A first-round draft pick in 1973, Yount debuted the following year, and on September 14, 1975, he broke Mel
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third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch counterclockwise to score a run.
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designated hitter (often shortened to DH) is an official position adopted by Major League Baseball's American League in 1973 that allowed teams to boost sagging offensive performances by designating a player to bat in place of the pitcher.
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