Paul Molitor

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Paul Molitor
Designated Hitter
Batted: Right	Threw: 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
RBI	1307
Teams
Milwaukee Brewers (1978-1992) Toronto Blue Jays (1993-1995) Minnesota Twins (1996-1998)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star (AL): 1980, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 World Series champion: 1993 World Series MVP: 1993 Branch Rickey Award: 1998 Hutch Award: 1987 Babe Ruth Award: 1993

Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame

Paul Leo Molitor

"The Ignitor"

Inducted as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers (4)

Year Inducted: 2004

First Year Eligible: 2004

Paul Molitor is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame

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 second baseman and 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. Molitor is the first, and as of 2006 only, player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a designated hitter.

During the early years of his career, Molitor was riddled with injuries, and 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 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 thanks to being hit in the eye with a Dennis Martinez pitch in the 1995 season finale 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), and holds the current record for most hits in one world series game, with 5 in 1982's first game. [3]

[edit] External links

• Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
• Molitor's induction ignites old memories
• When Molitor streaked into history

Preceded by George Bell & Nick Esasky	American League Player of the Month September 1989	Succeeded by Ken Griffey, Jr.
Preceded by John Olerud	American League Player of the Month May 1993	Succeeded by John Olerud
Preceded by Pat Borders	World Series MVP 1993	Succeeded by Tom Glavine
Preceded by Dave Winfield	Babe Ruth Award 1993	Succeeded by Tom Glavine
Preceded by Brett Butler	Lou Gehrig Memorial Award 1997	Succeeded by Tony Gwynn

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)