Molitor was the Brewer's first-round draft pick in 1977, and the third pick overall. By the next year he was in the majors, after a good spring training and an injury to Robin Yount, the regular shortstop. He played so well that when Yount returned a month later, Molitor just moved over to second base. He batted .273 that rookie year, then .322 and .304 the next two. It was an exciting time, as Milwaukee was building a winning team after years of expansion futility. They made it to the 7th game of the 1982 World Series. Molitor was a mainstay as the leadoff hitter, but started to show a distressing propensity for being injured, missing most of the 1984 season and good portions of 1986 and 1987.
He had moved to 3B in 1982 after an attempt at playing OF in 1981. In 1991 he became a DH and part-time 1B, and his health record improved. The Brewers' success waned, and after the 1992 season Molitor signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent. That was a good career move, as he was part of the 1993 World Champions. He finished his career with three seasons, 1996-98, as a member of the hometown Minnesota Twins. Along the way he became a member of the 3000 hit club and led the league in runs three times. He was also second in the 1993 AL MVP voting, and won the World Series MVP the same year. By my reckoning, he is the first DH to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
Molitor earned 151.64 ratings points.
Molitor's stats: .306 average, 3319 hits (9th all-time), 1782 runs (17th all-time), 605 doubles (10th all-time), 504 SB. posted by Shawn Weaver at 6:42 PM
