Paul Molitor

Paul Leo Molitor, known as “Mollie” and “the Ignitor,” spent 21 seasons in Major League Baseball as a player and later managed the Minnesota Twins. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, he attended the University of Minnesota and was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers third overall in 1977 after being selected as a pitcher by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 28th round of the 1974 draft but choosing college instead. Molitor played for the Brewers from 1978 to 1992, then signed with the Toronto Blue Jays after Milwaukee offered him a one-year contract with a pay cut.

He helped the Blue Jays win the 1993 World Series and was named World Series MVP. He finished his playing career with the Minnesota Twins from 1996 to 1998. A seven-time All-Star, Molitor ranks tenth all-time with 3,319 hits and is one of five players with 3,000-plus hits, a lifetime batting average above .300, and more than 500 stolen bases. He holds the best career postseason batting average in MLB history (minimum 100 at-bats) at .368.

Ted Williams called him the closest thing to Joe DiMaggio in 30 years, and Sports Illustrated described him as “the Complete Player.” After retiring, Molitor coached for the Seattle Mariners and the Twins. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2004 and was a finalist for the MLB All-Century Team. He managed the Twins from 2015 to 2018 and joined their television broadcast crew as a part-time color analyst in 2026.

In his early career, Molitor broke his jaw between his sophomore and junior college seasons, losing 40 pounds while his jaw was wired shut. He debuted with the Brewers in 1978, playing shortstop, second base, outfield, and third base. He was part of the 1982 Brewers team that lost the World Series in seven games, batting .355 with a record five hits in Game 1. Injuries plagued him early, including Tommy John surgery in 1984—the first for a position player—and a hamstring injury in 1986.

In 1987, he had a 39-game hitting streak, the fifth-longest in modern baseball and the longest since Pete Rose’s 44-game streak in 1978.