Paul Molitor (baseball player)
Paul Molitor | |
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Minnesota Twins - No. 1 | |
Designated hitter / infielder / coach | |
Born: August 22nd, 1956 in St. Paul , United States |
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Strikes: Right | Throws: Right |
Debut in Major League Baseball | |
April 7, 1978 at the Milwaukee Brewers | |
Last MLB assignment | |
September 27, 1998 with the Minnesota Twins | |
MLB statistics (until end of career) |
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Batting average | , 306 |
Hits | 3,319 |
Home runs | 234 |
Runs Batted In | 1,307 |
Stolen Bases | 504 |
Teams | |
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Awards | |
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member of | |
Baseball Hall of Fame | |
Recorded | 2004 |
Quota | 85.2% |
Paul Leo Molitor (born August 22, 1956 in St. Paul , Minnesota ) is a retired American baseball player in Major League Baseball and currently manager of the Minnesota Twins . His nickname is The Ignitor .
Life
Paul Molitor played his first game in the American League on April 7, 1978 for the Milwaukee Brewers . This season he was used as a shortstop and as a second baseman . He was named Rookie of the Year in the American League by The Sporting News magazine . In 1980 he was appointed second baseman in the MLB All-Star Game . In 1981 he was used in the center field before moving to the position of third baseman in 1982 . This should be his regular position in the field game, but after 1984 he was mainly used as a designated hitter . This was due to the multitude of injuries that accompanied Molitor at the beginning of his career.
1981 Molitor lost with his Brewers to the New York Yankees in the American League Divisional Series. In 1982 the Brewers were able to secure the AL title and met the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series . In the first game in this series, Molitor set a new World Series record with 5 basehits. Overall, he came in the series on a batting average of 35.5%, but his team had to admit defeat the Cardinals in seven games.
The next time Molitor received general attention was in 1987. This year he managed a series of 39 consecutive games, each with a base hit. That streak ended on August 26, 1987 against the Cleveland Indians .
After the 1992 season, Molitor left the Brewers and joined the Toronto Blue Jays as a free agent . In his first year he reached the 1993 World Series with his new club and was voted MVP of the World Series . The Blue Jays defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. Molitor achieved a batting average of 50% and was voted the series' Most Valuable Player.
After the 1995 season, he left Canada and went to his hometown club, the Minnesota Twins , as a free agent . There he hoped to play with Kirby Puckett , who had to end his career because of an eye disease. On September 16, 1996 Molitor succeeded in the game against the Kansas City Royals his 3000th basehit. To date, he is the only player to have achieved this with a triple . He is also the only one who managed 200 hits in the same season in the year of his 3,000th base hit. He played his last game on September 27, 1998.
In total, Paul Molitor played 2683 games in his career. He scored 1782 runs, 3319 base hits, 234 home runs , 1307 RBI, 504 stolen bases and a batting average of 30.6%. He took part in the All-Star Game seven times.
Since June 11, 1999, the Milwaukee Brewers no longer assign his number 4. In 2004 Paul Molitor was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame .
On November 4, 2014, the Twins signed Molitor for the 2015 season as a manager .
His stations as a player
- 1978-1992 Milwaukee Brewers
- 1993-1995 Toronto Blue Jays
- 1996-1998 Minnesota Twins
Web links
- Player information and statistics from Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or The Baseball Cube (English)
- Biography of Paul Molitor (English)
- Paul Molitor in the Hall of Fame (English)
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Molitor, Paul |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Molitor, Paul Leo (full name); Ignitor, The (nickname) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American baseball player |
DATE OF BIRTH | August 22, 1956 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Paul , Minnesota |