Molitor timeline
Paul Molitor's career highlights
Paul Molitor has been a notable baseball name since his Cretin days in the mid-1970s.
October 3, 2018 at 4:03AM
1974: After graduating from Cretin High School in St. Paul, he was selected in the 28th round of the free-agent draft by St. Louis but opted to attend the University of Minnesota.
1977: Drafted by Milwaukee with the No. 3 overall pick after three seasons with the Gophers, where he was an All-America shortstop. He batted .346 in 64 games at Class A Burlington.
1978: After only 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 .302 and leading league with 136 runs scored. Brewers lost World 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.
1987: Hit in 39 consecutive games, the fifth-longest streak in modern-day baseball — the longest since Pete Rose hit in 44 in a row in 1978.
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, at age 39.
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.
2000: Joined Twins staff as bench coach for Tom Kelly.
2001: Kelly retired and 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 in his first year of eligibility; left the Twins to become Seattle's hitting coach for one season.
2005: Rejoined Twins as a minor league instructor, holding the position through 2013.
2014: Named to MLB coaching staff.
Nov. 4, 2014: Named the 13th manager of the Twins.
2015: Led the Twins to their first winning season in four years with an 83-79 record.
2016: The Twins slumped to 59-103, their worst season in team history.
2017: Derek Falvey, the new chief of baseball operations, retained Molitor and the team rebounded with an 85-77 season, advancing to the wild-card game, where they lost to the Yankees. Molitor was named AL Manager of the Year and was given a new three-year contract on Oct. 9.
Tuesday: Fired after a 78-84 season.
about the writer
Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, the brash speedster who shattered stolen base records and redefined baseball's leadoff position, has died. He was 65.
