(Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Paul Molitor career timeline
February 22, 2015 at 12:56AM
1974: After graduating from Cretin-Derham Hall high school, he was selected in the 28th round of the free-agent draft by St. Louis, but opted to attend the University of Minnesota.
1977: After three seasons with the Gophers, he was drafted by Milwaukee with the No. 3 overall pick. After signing, he batted .346 at Class A Burlington.
1978: After just one minor-league season he won a job with the Brewers in spring training, and batted .273 with 30 stolen bases.
1982: Helped lead Brewers to AL title, batting .303 and leading league with 136 runs scored. Brewers lost Series to Cardinals in seven games, but Molitor batted .355, collecting Series record five hits in Game 1.
1984: During the trial of a Milwaukee drug dealer, Molitor was named as a customer. He admitted a few months later that he had used cocaine and marijuana early in his career.
1986: Landed on the disabled list for the sixth time since 1980. He played in only 13 games in 1984 before undergoing elbow surgery.
1987: Hit in 39 straight games, the fifth longest streak in modern-day baseball – the longest since Pete Rose hit in 44 straight games in 1978. He batted .353 for the season, but played in only 118 games, nonetheless leading the league with 114 runs scored.
1991: Had one of his finest seasons with Milwaukee, batting .325 while leading league in hits (216), runs (133) and triples (13).
1992: In final season as a Brewer, batted .320 with 31 stolen bases.
1993: Played on his only World Series championship team after signing with Toronto, winning the Series MVP award by batting .500 (12-for-24). He had hit .332 with 111 RBI during the season, leading the league in hits with 211.
1996: After signing a free-agent deal with his hometown Twins, Molitor batted .341 with 113 RBI and a league-leading 225 hits, one of them the 3,000th of his career in September.
1997: He batted .305 in his second season with the Twins, the 12th time in his career he batted over .300.
1998: Retired after batting .281 with 69 RBI.
2000: Joined Twins staff as bench coach for Tom Kelly.
2001: After Kelly retired, Molitor interviewed for the manager's job that ultimately went to Ron Gardenhire.
2003: Became Twins minor league baserunning/infield coach.
2004: Elected to Hall of Fame on his year of eligibility.
2004: Left Twins to become Seattle's hitting coach, but lasted only one season was Bob Melvin was fired s manager.
2005: Rejoined Twins as a minor league instructor, holding the position through 2013.
2014: Named to Gardenhire's coaching staff.
2015: Named Twins manager.
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Emmanuel Rodriguez had an abbreviated season after being hit by the injury bug, but he showed promise as a disciplined hitter.