PAUL MOLITOR
Game 302 | January 5, 1983 | Paul Molitor
The former Gopher baseball star was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1977 and was the team's starting second baseman in 1978 at age 21. He spent 21 seasons in the majors, 15 with the Brewers, three with Toronto and his last three with the Twins. He finished his Hall of Fame career with 3,319 hits and an average of .306.
Game 509 | February 13, 1997 | Paul Molitor
The former Gopher and St. Paul native returned home to play for the Twins in his final three seasons of 1996-1998. During the 1996 season, Molitor recorded his 3,000th hit and became the only person in baseball history to do it with a triple. Already in the 19th year of his Hall of Fame career, Molitor played in all but one of the Twins' games in 1996, batting .341 with nine home runs, 113 RBIs and 18 stolen bases at age 39.
Game 525 | January 19, 1998 | Paul Molitor, Terry Steinbach
So many Minnesota-born players came home to finish their careers with the Twins, and New Ulm's Terry Steinbach joined that list in 1998. Playing in 114 games, mostly at catcher, Steinbach, a former Gopher, hit .242 with 14 home runs and 54 RBIs. He played one more season for the Twins as catching duties moved to A.J. Pierzynski. Molitor, in the last of his three years with the Twins, retired at age 40 after batting .281 with four home runs and 64 RBIs.
Game 649 | February 23, 2005 | Paul Molitor
The former star of the Minnesota Gophers, Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins was a first-ballot elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. He was a seven-time All-Star and finished his 21-year major league career with 3,319 hits and a batting average of .306. Although he played with three major league teams, he chose to enter the Hall of Fame as a Brewer, alongside his long-time teammate, Robin Yount.
Game 842 | April 29, 2015 | Paul Molitor, Terry Ryan
Named to replace the fired Ron Gardenhire, Molitor's team finished second in the A.L. Central with an 83-79 record. At season's end Molitor finished third in the voting for A.L. Manager of the Year. The team was sparked by the arrival of Miguel Sano who finished third in voting for A. L. Rookie of the Year while hitting 18 home runs over the second half of the season after his recall from Double A Chattanooga. Ryan talked about the depth in the Twins farm system that included Sano, Eddie Rosario, Jose Barrios, Byron Buxton and Max Kepler.
Game 860 | April 16, 2016 | Paul Molitor, Terry Ryan
The Twins manager and general manager were optimistic despite the team's slow start. Unfortunately, things did not improve and the Twins finished with a record of 59-103, worst in major league baseball and worst in the team's history going back to 1961. Ryan, a member of the Twins organization since 1986, was fired in mid-July with the team mired in a deep slump.
(LtoR) Chris Wright, Paul Molitor, Terry Ryan, Dave St. Peter (physician), Dave Mona
Game 878 | April 20, 2017 | Paul Molitor, Derek Falvey
Molitor was entering the final year of his three-year contract and his first under new Chief Baseball Officer Falvey. The Twins were coming off a 103-loss season and were picked by baseball writers to finish last in the American League. Instead, the team made the American League playoffs, losing in the Wild Card game to the New York Yankees. The Twins became the first team ever to improve from more than 100 losses to a playoff spot. Molitor was named American League Manager of the Year, joining Frank Robinson as the only members of the Baseball Hall of Fame to ever win Manager of the Year honors.
(LtoR) Dave Mona, Paul Molitor, Derek Falvey, Dave St. Peter (physician), Pete Kostroski
Game 896 | May 23, 2018 | Derek Falvey, Paul Molitor, Cory Provus
Molitor, the Hall of Fame infielder from Saint Paul, was coming off a season in which he had been named American League Manager of the Year. Top prospects Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano were injured and spent most of the season in the minor leagues. The team finished with a 78-84 record, 13 games behind division-leading Cleveland. Molitor was fired at the end of the season.
(LtoR) Dave Mona, Dave St. Peter, Derek Falvey, Paul Molitor, Cory Provus, Nancy Lindahl
Wikipedia: Paul Molitor
