Milwaukee’s Best, Part 5: The Best Of Braves, Brewers: 10-1

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Paul Molitor, shown on a 1989-92 vintage poster.

4. Paul Molitor, 2B-3B-DH

Brewers 1978-92

The Brewers took Paul Molitor with the third overall pick of the 1977 amateur draft out of the University of Minnesota and less than a year later, Opening Day in 1978 to be precise, he was already in the majors.

Molitor was runner-up to Lou Whitaker of the Detroit Tigers for Rookie of the Year in the American League and would go on to earn five All-Star berths with the Brewers, finishing in the top 10 of the MVP race three times.

He led the AL in runs scored three times and once each in hits, doubles and triples and in 1987 put together the longest hitting streak since Pete Rose hit in 44 games in 1978, getting at least one hit in 39 straight games. That remains the longest streak in baseball since.

Molitor made the adjustments he had to when his chronically bad right shoulder took him out of playing full-time in the field, becoming one of the top designated hitters in baseball over his final six years in Milwaukee.

Also a speedster, Molitor finished in the top 10 in the AL in stolen bases nine times while with the Brewers. He hit a career-high .353/.438/.566 in 1987 and stole a career-best 45 bases.

Molitor had a tremendous World Series for the Brewers in 1982, going 11-for-31 and scoring five runs.

Molitor had re-signed with the Brewers in free agency after the 1987 season, but he opted to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays in December 1992, where he earned his lone World Series ring. He later played with the Minnesota Twins before retiring after the 1998 season.

Molitor was hired last November to replace Ron Gardenhire as the manager of the Twins after serving one season on the coaching staff there. He had also been the Twins’ bench coach in 2000-01 and served as hitting coach for the Seattle Mariners in 2004. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.

Here are Molitor’s statistics from his 15 seasons with the Brewers:

Year	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
1978	21	125	556	521	73	142	26	4	6	45	30	12	19	54	.273	.301	.372	.673	89
1979	22	140	645	584	88	188	27	16	9	62	33	13	48	48	.322	.372	.469	.842	126
1980 ★	23	111	512	450	81	137	29	2	9	37	34	7	48	48	.304	.372	.438	.809	125
1981	24	64	284	251	45	67	11	0	2	19	10	6	25	29	.267	.341	.335	.675	100
1982	25	160	*751*	*666*	*136*	201	26	8	19	71	41	9	69	93	.302	.366	.450	.816	129
1983	26	152	682	608	95	164	28	6	15	47	41	8	59	74	.270	.333	.410	.743	110
1984	27	13	49	46	3	10	1	0	0	6	1	0	2	8	.217	.245	.239	.484	37
1985 ★	28	140	642	576	93	171	28	3	10	48	21	7	54	80	.297	.356	.408	.764	110
1986	29	105	482	437	62	123	24	6	9	55	20	5	40	81	.281	.340	.426	.765	105
1987	30	118	542	465	114	164	41	5	16	75	45	10	69	67	.353	.438	.566	1.003	161
1988 ★	31	154	691	609	115	190	34	6	13	60	41	10	71	54	.312	.384	.452	.836	133
1989	32	155	696	615	84	194	35	4	11	56	27	11	64	67	.315	.379	.439	.818	132
1990	33	103	458	418	64	119	27	6	12	45	18	3	37	51	.285	.343	.464	.807	125
1991 ★	34	158	*752*	*665*	*133*	*216*	32	13	17	75	19	8	77	62	.325	.399	.489	.888	147
1992 ★	35	158	701	609	89	195	36	7	12	89	31	6	73	66	.320	.389	.461	.851	140
TOTALS	1856	8443	7520	1275	2281	405	86	160	790	412	115	755	882	.303	.367	.444	.811	125

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/22/2015.

Next: 3. The Kid Stuck Around 20 Years

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Milwaukee’s Best, Part 5: The 50 Best To Play For Braves, Brewers: 10-1

By Phil Watson | Mar 22, 2015

4. Paul Molitor, 2B-3B-DH

Brewers 1978-92