Paul Molitor

Paul Molitor was a versatile, high-average hitter who won a World Series with Toronto in 1993 and reached 3,000 career hits.

Paul Leo Molitor was born on August 22, 1956, in St. Paul, Minnesota, the fifth of eight children of Richard Molitor, an accountant with the Burlington Northern Railroad, and his wife Kathleen. Even as a young boy playing in the neighborhood around Grand Avenue and Pascal Street, Molitor earned a reputation as a gifted athlete, and by the time his family moved to a large Victorian home near Portland Avenue when he was eight, he was already one of the best young ballplayers in his part of the city. After starring at Cretin High School and earning All-American honors as a shortstop at the University of Minnesota, Molitor was selected third overall in the 1977 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers, having previously turned down the St. Louis Cardinals when they picked him in the 28th round out of high school. He debuted with Milwaukee in 1978 and quickly earned the nickname "The Ignitor" for his ability to spark rallies at the top of the Brewers' lineup, playing a central role alongside fellow future Hall of Famer Robin Yount in the franchise's only World Series appearance, in 1982. Molitor battled injuries and, by his own later admission, personal struggles with substance use during parts of his Milwaukee tenure, but he emerged in the second half of his career as one of the most durable and productive hitters in the game. In 1993, playing for the Toronto Blue Jays, he capped a remarkable season by winning the World Series and earning Series MVP honors at age 37, batting .500 across the six games. His 39-game hitting streak in 1987 remains one of the longest in the modern era, trailing only Joe DiMaggio's 56-game record and matching the sport's short list of truly historic streaks. Molitor closed out his career with his hometown Minnesota Twins, and on September 16, 1996, he became the first player in major league history to reach 3,000 career hits with a triple — a fittingly athletic milestone for a player renowned for his all-around game. He finished with 3,319 hits, a .306 batting average, and 504 stolen bases, one of the rare combinations of that magnitude in baseball history. Molitor was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility, and later returned to manage the Twins from 2015 to 2018, winning American League Manager of the Year honors in 2017.

Contact hitter with speed and clutch ability

Hall of Fame third baseman and designated hitter

• World Series champion & MVP (1993)
• 7x All-Star
• Hall of Fame 2004