Molitor, Paul

Paul Molitor, in full Paul Leo Molitor, (born August 22, 1956, St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.), American baseball player whose .306 lifetime batting average and 3,319 career hits made him one of the most consistent offensive players in Major League Baseball (MLB) history.

Molitor was all-state in baseball and basketball in high school and all-conference in both sports at the University of Minnesota in 1976 and 1977. The third choice in the 1977 baseball draft, he played only 64 minor league games before being called up to the majors as a rookie second baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1978. His .273 batting average and 30 stolen bases earned him American League (AL) Rookie of the Year accolades from both The Sporting News and Baseball Digest.

Because of injuries, only in two of the seasons from 1978 through 1987 did Molitor play in more than 140 games. Nevertheless, in one of those years, 1982, his 136 runs scored were the most since 1949, and he became the first batter ever with a 5-for-5 game in the World Series. From 1987 through 1993 Molitor batted over .300 six times in seven seasons. He ranked second in AL batting average in 1987 and 1993. In 1987 he hit safely in 39 consecutive games and recorded career highs of a .353 batting average and 45 stolen bases in 118 games. Molitor most often played third base in 1982–89, but injuries subsequently limited him to serving as designated hitter and, occasionally, playing first base.

Molitor left Milwaukee in 1993 after the Brewers were unable to match the Toronto Blue Jays’ offer of $13 million for three years. He batted .361 in the second half of the season to finish at .332 with career highs of 22 home runs and 111 runs batted in. With a record six consecutive hits, he lifted the Blue Jays over the Chicago White Sox in the AL Championship Series. After playing in only one World Series in his 15 Milwaukee seasons, he helped the Blue Jays defeat the Philadelphia Phillies, four games to two, to win the championship. Molitor’s offensive performance during the series—which was highlighted by 12 hits in 24 at-bats and 10 runs scored—earned him World Series Most Valuable Player honours.

Molitor became a free agent after the 1995 season, and he was acquired by the Minnesota Twins. He played three seasons in Minnesota before retiring in 1998. Molitor subsequently held coaching positions with the Twins and the Seattle Mariners before being named the Twins’ manager in November 2014. In his third season at the helm, he led the Twins to an appearance in the AL Wild Card game, making that team the first in major-league history to follow a 100-loss season with a play-off berth, and Molitor was named the 2017 AL Manager of the Year. The Twins won seven fewer games in 2018, failing to meet the higher expectations set by their previous campaign, which led to Molitor being fired at season’s end. Molitor was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004.