New manager Paul Molitor optimistic about Twins chances to win now
Paul Molitor finished playing in 1998, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2004. He could have called it a career in baseball at that point, without risking part of his reputation on managing. And though he was a bench coach in 2000-01 — usually a sign that one is on track to manage one’s own club someday — he stayed away from the responsibility of managing until now.
The Minnesota Twins introduced Molitor on Tuesday morning as their new manager, completing a circle that began when he grew up in the Twin Cities and played high school ball in St. Paul, but also included being immortalized at Cooperstown.
Molitor said that he got a text from Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson regarding his legacy and if he’s endangering it in any way:
“He said, relax, enjoy this. No matter what you do [as a manager], your plaque’s going to stay in the plaque room.”
Molitor called this new challenge, “different” and “separate” from his playing days.
“We’ve all seen successful athletes have not very much success in management positions,” Molitor said. “Playing, coaching and developing is not that same as being a leader from the top.”
Molitor has accrued 14 years of coaching experience in the majors and minors, though he’s never run a pitching staff before, and he’s never led 25 players before. Other than those two, sizable voids, Molitor has plenty of experience heading into his first season as a manager with the Twins. Molitor also has optimism about the future, even though the Twins lost 92 games in 2014 under Ron Gardenhire, who was fired right after the regular season ended, and have averaged nearly 96 losses since 2011.
Molitor was one of Gardenhire’s top assistants in 2014, handing baserunning, bunting, infield- and overall defensive-positioning, along with in-game tactics. Molitor is a fan of shifts and other actions that use advanced metrics. Anything that might help. Molitor also played the final seasons of his career under Tom Kelly, whose Twins teams won the World Series twice.
“I have no doubt that this is where I’m supposed to be,” Molitor said. “I’m coming here to win. It’s going to be important to create a vision that they can win now.
“And I could tell you a lot I like about that team” that lost 92 games, he added.
Molitor singled out Twins mainstays Joe Mauer and Glen Perkins, along with right-hander Ricky Nolasco — who struggled most of the season until gaining his health and pitching well down the stretch. Molitor said he watched the baseball playoffs closely, paying attention to what the Kansas City Royals did with pitching and defense, and indicated a similar approach would continue to suit the Twins at spacious Target Field.
Perkins said that Molitor’s hiring is an encouraging sign to him:
Twins general manager Terry Ryan says the team will be active in free agency, and echoed Molitor’s assertion that the team can win sooner rather than later:
“We’re ready to win here,” Ryan said.
As for what kind of manager he’ll be interpersonally, Molitor said he won’t be afraid to get tough when all other avenues are exhausted. And he won’t forget that he was a player once, too.
“I will never forget that the game is very difficult,” Molitor said. “I’m not intimidated. I know what I know. And a lot of it is really good things.”
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David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter!
