Molly Ignites Twins- New Manager (officially as of 11-3-2014, see post #9)

[rickh150]

Although I'm not a big "no managerial experience is a good thing"guy, I'm happy for Paul. He is the smartest ball player I ever watched and know some of it translates to the dugout. He ran the bases so well! I still can't get over it. And bunted for hits when a sacrifice was his backup plan . Out hustled lazy talent. Hard-nosed, clutch. Yet common and personable with charm. So glad he was (and is) a Brewer....A true ball player with experience on winners and perennial losers. This will serve him well as he begins his managerial career.

 

Hoping he does well so we can meet him (and beat him) in the World Series soon.

[Invader3K]

Although I'm not a big "no managerial experience is a good thing"guy, I'm happy for Paul. He is the smartest ball player I ever watched and know some of it translates to the dugout. He ran the bases so well! I still can't get over it. And bunted for hits when a sacrifice was his backup plan . Out hustled lazy talent. Hard-nosed, clutch. Yet common and personable with charm. So glad he was (and is) a Brewer....A true ball player with experience on winners and perennial losers. This will serve him well as he begins his managerial career.

 

Hoping he does well so we can meet him (and beat him) in the World Series soon.

 

Paul Molitor is my all time favorite Brewer. He was the first player I really started cheering for as a kid, other than a young rookie named Gary Sheffield. I think it's such a shame that he's become a big part of the Twins organization, but basically forgotten in Milwaukee. I firmly believe he should have a statue outside Miller Park, right next to Robin Yount's (see the link in my signature).

 

That said, if he gets the Twins managerial job, good for him. I hope he does well.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/report--twins-expected-to-hire-paul-molitor-as-manager-163108617.html

[torts]

Although I'm not a big "no managerial experience is a good thing"guy, I'm happy for Paul. He is the smartest ball player I ever watched and know some of it translates to the dugout. He ran the bases so well! I still can't get over it. And bunted for hits when a sacrifice was his backup plan . Out hustled lazy talent. Hard-nosed, clutch. Yet common and personable with charm. So glad he was (and is) a Brewer....A true ball player with experience on winners and perennial losers. This will serve him well as he begins his managerial career.

 

Hoping he does well so we can meet him (and beat him) in the World Series soon.

 

Paul Molitor is my all time favorite Brewer. He was the first player I really started cheering for as a kid, other than a young rookie named Gary Sheffield. I think it's such a shame that he's become a big part of the Twins organization, but basically forgotten in Milwaukee. I firmly believe he should have a statue outside Miller Park, right next to Robin Yount's (see the link in my signature).

 

That said, if he gets the Twins managerial job, good for him. I hope he does well.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/report--twins-expected-to-hire-paul-molitor-as-manager-163108617.html

 

Favorite player of all time, really happy for him

[brewmann04]

Congrates to my all time Favorite Brewer and now i finally have a Favorite American League team. GO CREW and TWINS

[dlk9s]

I'm kind of sad that he's going to be a manager. He's my favorite player of all time, but he will inevitably get criticized relentlessly or whatever decisions he makes and get fired in a few years. I don't want to view him as just another crappy manager.

[Invader3K]

I'm kind of sad that he's going to be a manager. He's my favorite player of all time, but he will inevitably get criticized relentlessly or whatever decisions he makes and get fired in a few years. I don't want to view him as just another crappy manager.

 

From what I've read, the Twins know their MLB team is a mess right now, and are planning to bring in Molitor as a long term manager, just like Gardenhire was. Hopefully that bodes well for him.

[brewmann04]

Good for him and nice to hear they are making a long term Commiment to him

[gregmag]

I'm also on the "Molitor as favorite player ever" bandwagon. He came up right when I became a big fan, and suddenly the team got really good. For ten year-old me, that was magical. Watching him play for all those years was the most fun I've ever had as a baseball fan. Between this and all my friends in the Twin Cities, I'll be rooting hard for the Twins.

[Invader3K]

It's official as of this afternoon. Congrats to Paul Molitor and best wishes on the new job.

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11815574/minnesota-twins-hire-paul-molitor-manager

 

[brewmann04]

amen my second favorite team to root for

[jerichoholicninja]

I was reading the comments on the story of his hiring somewhere, I don't remember where. But from what I read Twins fans aren't too thrilled about this because he's basically just an extension of Tom Kelly and Gardenhire with a love of bunting and moving runners over. I was barely born when Molitor was playing so I don't know anything about what kind of player he was, other than really good, does that fit his style?

[MNBrew]

With all due respect to Robin Yount, Paul Molitor was a better all-around better baseball player, and as such I've always liked him more between the two. Yount gets more love b/c he stayed with the team 'til his career ended, but that's hardly on Molitor as we all know: Molly was better in 1992 than Yount, who was starting to show more overt signs of decline. Yet when both were FAs after that year, Yount was offered a raise from their similar $3-point-something-million salaries and Molitor was offered only $1M or so (accompanied by the Sal Bando line that will live in Brewer infamy: "only a DH"). Molitor went on to have at least 4 more VERY productive years, whereas Robin's numbers would decline for his remaining two seasons.

 

In '92...

Yount: .264 BA, 8 HR, 77 RBI, .714 OPS -- much like the other 3 seasons which followed his 1989 MVP year

Molitor: .320 BA, 12 HR, 89 RBI, .851 OPS -- and he had 3 BETTER seasons after that, plus another .300+ year, and no year after that out of 6 as bad as Yount's 1992

 

Paul Molitor was as fundamentally sound a ballplayer as there was in his day, and he's keenly baseball-smart in ways similar to how Robin Yount is. I don't think there's a way to pigeon-hole him into the stereotype of an extension of TK & Gardy since he's never been in charge of a team to be able to exert the kind of influence that dictates team style, and any conjecture about it is just that, and therefore is easily and justly dismissable.

[superfly]

I was reading the comments on the story of his hiring somewhere, I don't remember where. But from what I read Twins fans aren't too thrilled about this because he's basically just an extension of Tom Kelly and Gardenhire with a love of bunting and moving runners over. I was barely born when Molitor was playing so I don't know anything about what kind of player he was, other than really good, does that fit his style?

 

Minnesota fans in general are a fickle bunch...nevermind the Royals just missed a title playing small ball. The elephant in the room is forever going to be the Pohlads and their tight pockets. They wormed their way into a brand new stadium, kept it competitive the first year, then down she went. Until they actually raise the payroll to something respectable the Twins will be mediocre to poor.

 

 

"We're waiting for 2016 when Buxton, Sano, etc are ready." Yeah ok boys.

[torts]

With all due respect to Robin Yount, Paul Molitor was a better all-around better baseball player, and as such I've always liked him more between the two. Yount gets more love b/c he stayed with the team 'til his career ended, but that's hardly on Molitor as we all know: Molly was better in 1992 than Yount, who was starting to show more overt signs of decline. Yet when both were FAs after that year, Yount was offered a raise from their similar $3-point-something-million salaries and Molitor was offered only $1M or so (accompanied by the Sal Bando line that will live in Brewer infamy: "only a DH"). Molitor went on to have at least 4 more VERY productive years, whereas Robin's numbers would decline for his remaining two seasons.

 

In '92...

Yount: .264 BA, 8 HR, 77 RBI, .714 OPS -- much like the other 3 seasons which followed his 1989 MVP year

Molitor: .320 BA, 12 HR, 89 RBI, .851 OPS -- and he had 3 BETTER seasons after that, plus another .300+ year, and no year after that out of 6 as bad as Yount's 1992

 

Paul Molitor was as fundamentally sound a ballplayer as there was in his day, and he's keenly baseball-smart in ways similar to how Robin Yount is. I don't think there's a way to pigeon-hole him into the stereotype of an extension of TK & Gardy since he's never been in charge of a team to be able to exert the kind of influence that dictates team style, and any conjecture about it is just that, and therefore is easily and justly dismissable.

 

he is hands down one of the greatest batters in MLB history. he may not have those "flashy stats", but just take this in for a moment..

 

Molitor is one of four players in major league history with at least 3,000 hits, a .300 lifetime batting average, and 500 stolen bases. The other three are Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, and Eddie Collins, none of whom played the game beyond 1930, and only the third player (along with Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner) with at least 3,000 hits, 600 doubles and 500 stolen bases. Molitor is the only player ever to accomplish those feats and hit at least 200 home runs. Molitor is also the first player in World Series history to have at least two home runs, two doubles, and two triples in one series (1993).

 

another crazy thing is he has those numbers while playing under half a season in 81, barely any games in 84, and battled injuries in 86, 87 and 90 and a strike-shortened season in 94 where he was hitting .341 with 155 hits in 115 games, on a team that could have gone and won it all again. he gets little recognition for how incredible of a batter he was because he played for Milwaukee, Toronto and Minnesota

[Invader3K]

In '92...

Yount: .264 BA, 8 HR, 77 RBI, .714 OPS -- much like the other 3 seasons which followed his 1989 MVP year

Molitor: .320 BA, 12 HR, 89 RBI, .851 OPS -- and he had 3 BETTER seasons after that, plus another .300+ year, and no year after that out of 6 as bad as Yount's 1992

 

Paul Molitor was as fundamentally sound a ballplayer as there was in his day, and he's keenly baseball-smart in ways similar to how Robin Yount is.

 

It's really ridiculous to look back and realize that Yount wasn't really that great anymore after his amazing 1989 MVP season (never above a .717 OPS in his remaining four seasons, as you pointed out), yet we kept him around and let Molitor go. Molitor went on to win the World Series MVP award in 1993 with the Blue Jays, while the Brewers stunk and continued to be terrible for over a decade following.

 

Selig and Bando low balled the wrong player, in retrospect.

[TURBO]

Maybe they were tired of his injury history and drug addiction issues perhaps?

 

I know Molitor gets a lot of love here, but his injuries were extensive and the drugs were kept behind the scenes throughout his career in Milwaukee. Maybe, just maybe, the front office was just tired of dealing with the behind the scenes stuff and wanted to cut ties.

[jerichoholicninja]

I was reading the comments on the story of his hiring somewhere, I don't remember where. But from what I read Twins fans aren't too thrilled about this because he's basically just an extension of Tom Kelly and Gardenhire with a love of bunting and moving runners over. I was barely born when Molitor was playing so I don't know anything about what kind of player he was, other than really good, does that fit his style?

 

Minnesota fans in general are a fickle bunch...nevermind the Royals just missed a title playing small ball. The elephant in the room is forever going to be the Pohlads and their tight pockets. They wormed their way into a brand new stadium, kept it competitive the first year, then down she went. Until they actually raise the payroll to something respectable the Twins will be mediocre to poor.

 

 

"We're waiting for 2016 when Buxton, Sano, etc are ready." Yeah ok boys.

 

Well they ponied up the cash for Mauer after everyone assumed he was going to Boston. It's looking like that was a huge mistake but they still spent money.

[Invader3K]

Maybe they were tired of his injury history and drug addiction issues perhaps?

 

I know Molitor gets a lot of love here, but his injuries were extensive and the drugs were kept behind the scenes throughout his career in Milwaukee. Maybe, just maybe, the front office was just tired of dealing with the behind the scenes stuff and wanted to cut ties.

 

I think those are copout excuses. By 1992, Molitor's drug issues were well behind him. IIRC, his admitted drug use happened in the early '80s.

 

re: Injuries, from 1988-1992, Molitor had only one season where he played less than 154 games. So he was relatively healthy as a player the past few seasons up until the '92 off-season.

[Invader3K]

Article about Molitor and his philosophy he says he will have as a manager: http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/lacrossetribune.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/ca/1cab4942-7c65-529a-acdd-f60873a97eb3/54b73751bc0c7.image.jpg?resize=620%2C497

[brewmann04]

I never forget that day in Dec when it was first announced the Brewers afford him Arby and then a bit later it was announced he signed as a fa with the jays. Bad day he will always be one of my all time favorite Brewers and will root for the Twins as my American league team

[JohnBriggs12]

I never forget that day in Dec when it was first announced the Brewers afford him Arby and then a bit later it was announced he signed as a fa with the jays. Bad day he will always be one of my all time favorite Brewers and will root for the Twins as my American league team

 

Molitor didn't need to stick it to Brewers and by extension their fans by signing with the team that at the time had just edged them out in the division. He's no saint in my book. And yes that drug issue he had was over by mid 80's but if you watched Molitor play in 1983, there was something not quite right about him and we found out later he was sticking stuff up his nose. What should have been his prime years from 83 through 86, he was pretty pedestrian when he wasn't hurt which was fairly often.