Paul Molitor

Paul Molitor

Infobox MLB retired
name=Paul Molitor



position=Designated hitter / Infielder
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|mf=yes|1956|8|22
city-state|Vadnais Heights|Minnesota
debutdate=April 7
debutyear=by|1978
debutteam=Milwaukee Brewers
finaldate=September 27
finalyear=by|1998
finalteam=Minnesota Twins
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.306
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=3,319
stat3label=Home runs
stat3value=234
teams=
* Milwaukee Brewers (by|1978-by|1992)
* Toronto Blue Jays (by|1993-by|1995)
* Minnesota Twins (by|1996-by|1998)
highlights=
* 7x All-Star selection (1980, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994)
* World Series champion (1993)
* 4x Silver Slugger Award winner (1987, 1988, 1993, 1996)
* 1993 World Series MVP
* 1993 Babe Ruth Award
* 1997 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
* 1998 Branch Rickey Award
* 1987 Hutch Award
* Milwaukee Brewers #4 retired
hofdate=by|2004
hofvote=85.2% (first ballot)

Paul Leo Molitor (nicknamed Molly or The Ignitor) (born August 22, 1956 in Vadnais Heights, Minnesota) is a former American baseball player. Molitor played for 21 seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers (1978-1992), Toronto Blue Jays (1993-1995) and Minnesota Twins (1996-1998). He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility.

Career

Milwaukee Brewers

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, with occasional games at first base and in the outfield. He played 44% of his career games as a DH.

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 1982 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 Molitor 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. [http://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/content/sports/daily/073106sportsdata.html] Dead link|date=July 2008

Toronto Blue Jays

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) in the six game series.

Minnesota Twins

He left the Blue Jays after the by|1995 season and joined his hometown Minnesota Twins for the final three seasons of his career, where he acquired his 3,000th hit. He is the only player to reach the 3000 hits plateau with a triple. Molitor was relishing the opportunity to play with Twins superstar Kirby Puckett, but Puckett developed career-ending glaucoma during spring training in 1996 and never played again. In 1996, Molitor became the first 40-year-old to have a 200-hit season (225). Molitor also remains the last Major League player to drive in 100 or more runs in a season while hitting fewer than 10 home runs (9 HR, 113 RBI).Fact|date=June 2008

Accomplishments

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. 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. At the time of his induction, Molitor was the hitting coach for the Seattle Mariners. [cite news
last = Stone
first = Larry
title = Man about Cooperstown: Molitor takes his place with game's best
work = Seattle Times
publisher = The Seattle Times Company
date = 2004-07-25
url = http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2001987767_molitor25.html
accessdate = 2008-02-05
]

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.

Molitor is one of 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 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 player in World Series history to have at least two home runs, two doubles, and two triples in one series (1993).

Personal life

During the early years of his career, Molitor began using cocaine and marijuana. He stopped using drugs in 1981, and has since visited schools to lecture about the dangers of drug use. [cite news
last = Stone
first = Larry
title = Man about Cooperstown: Molitor takes his place with game's best
work = Seattle Times
publisher = The Seattle Times Company
date = 2004-07-25
url = http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2001987767_molitor25.html
accessdate = 2008-02-05
]

ee also

* List of top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters
* List of Major League Baseball Hit Records
* List of Major League Baseball doubles records
* List of major league players with 2,000 hits
* List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
* List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
* List of Major League Baseball players with 500 stolen bases
* 3000 hit club
* Hitting for the cycle
* List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
* List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
* List of Major League Baseball triples champions
* List of Major League Baseball players with 400 stolen bases

References

External links

*bbhof|119236
*Baseballstats |mlb= |espn= |br= m/molitpa01|fangraphs= |cube=m/paul-molitor
* [http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=246267 Molitor's induction ignites old memories]
* [http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080724&content_id=8322&vkey=hof_news Molitor thrills Cooperstown audience: Hall of Famer reminisces about career at Voices of the Game event]


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