Paul Leo Molitor | DH | 1993-1996
Awards and All-Stars as a Blue Jay
1993 World Series MVP
1993, 1994 All-Star
Paul Molitor was drafted 3rd overall by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1977 amateur draft. After playing only 64 games in A ball in his draft year, the 21 year old Molitor made the Brewer's major league roster in the 1978 season, the first of his 21 year Hall-of-Fame career. Molitor spent his next 15 seasons with the Brewers in which he established himself as one of the most prolific hitters in the Majors. As a Brewer, he was a 5 time All-Star (1980, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992), and was the recipient of the Huch Award to in 1987, an award presented annually to the player that exemplify a fighting spirit and a strong competitive desire.
After 15 years with the Milwaukee Brewers, Molitor, joined the Blue Jays as a free agent in the 1992 off-season. In the following season, Molitor, then 36, put up one of his best statistical season of his career, posting a batting line of .331.402/.509; he not only was an All-Star that year, but also finished second in the MVP race. 1993 was also that year that Molitor won his one and only World Series title in his career, and he did it in fine style. The '93 World Series will forever be remembered by Joe Carter's memorable walk-off home run, but it was Molitor who won the World Series MVP with a line of .500/.571/1.000. Molitor played as big of a part as any Blue Jay with in their '93 World Series run, in addition his MVP performance in the World Series, he also hit .391 with an OPS of 1.177 in the ALCS; his performance in the '93 playoffs was truly spectacular.
Molitor left Toronto after 3 years to play with his hometown's franchise, the Minnesota Twins, where he spent the remainder of his career. Molitor was a player that had defied the odds of physiology and remained productive even in the final years of his career. The last 3 seasons was where Molitor put the exclamation point on his Hall-of-Fame Career. On September 16th, 1996, Molitor became the 21th member of the elusive 3000 club via a triple, which was a first in history. As if the 3000 hit club was not enough, Molitor became the 6th member of the 3000 hit, 500 steal club. On June 11th, 1999, Molitor officially retired as a baseball player.
In 2004, Paul Molitor, in his first year of eligibility, was officially inducted into the Baseball Hall-of-Fame. Molitor was the epitome of a professional hitter, maintained a average of .306 while amassing 3319 hits over his career. Although he was inducted to the Hall-of-Fame as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, Molitor had some of his finest years, plus a World Series title, with the Toronto Blue Jays. Molitor will remember fondly of his time in Toronto, and Toronto will remember fondly of him.