Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) – Paul Molitor will be the new manager of
the Minnesota Twins.
The Twins said the Hall of Famer has agreed to a three-year contract through
the 2017 season and will be officially introduced on Tuesday.
Molitor will become just the third manager for the franchise since 1986,
following Tom Kelly and the recently fired Ron Gardenhire.
The 58-year-old St. Paul native and University of Minnesota product finished
his Hall of Fame playing career with his hometown team from 1996-98 and was a
coach on Gardenhire’s staff last year after previously serving as bench coach
for Kelly in 2000 and 2001.
This will be Molitor’s first managerial job at any level. After 10 years in
the Minnesota organization as a minor league infield and base running
coordinator, he joined Gardenhire’s staff last year to coach infield, base
running and bunting, then moved to first base coach in July when Joe Vavra
suffered a hip injury.
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004, Molitor played a combined 21 seasons
for the Brewers, Blue Jays and Twins. He had a career .306 batting average
with 234 home runs and 1,307 RBI.
His 3,319 career hits are good enough for 10th on the all-time list, while his
605 career doubles rank 11th all-time. He was a seven-time All-Star and the
MVP of the 1993 World Series with Toronto.
After his two-year stint as a coach on Kelly’s staff, Molitor served as
hitting coach for the Seattle Mariners in 2004.
Gardenhire was fired after the Twins finished 70-92 in 2014, the club’s fourth
straight losing season. He led Minnesota to the postseason six times during
his 13-year tenure, finishing with a record of 1,068-1,039.
Kelly took over at the end of the 1986 campaign and guided the Twins to a pair
of World Series titles during his 15 full seasons.
