Paul Molitor

Designated Hitter · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1978-1998)

⭐ Hall of Fame 2004
AVG .306
HR 234
RBI 1,307
H 3,319
OPS .817
PIV 29,073
Position
Designated Hitter
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 185 lb
Born
8/22/1956 in St. Paul, MN, USA
MLB Debut
1978-04-07
Last Game
1998-09-27
Hall of Fame
Inducted 2004 (BBWAA)
Awards
7× All-Star · World Series MVP · 4× Silver Slugger · Babe Ruth Award

Full name: Paul Leo Molitor

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2,683 10,835 1,782 3,319 605 114 234 1,307 504 1,094 1,244 .306 .369 .448 .817 29,073

Career AVG .306 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — +17.2% above league average.

Career OBP .369 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — +12.6% above league average.

Career SLG .448 vs. league average .396 across their career seasons — +13.1% above league average.

Career OPS .817 vs. league average .724 across their career seasons — +12.8% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1978 ML4 AL 125 521 73 142 26 4 6 45 30 19 54 .273 .257 (+6%) .323 (-7%) .378 (-2%) .702 (-4%) -460.6
1979 ML4 AL 140 584 88 188 27 16 9 62 33 48 48 .322 .265 (+21%) .329 (+13%) .397 (+18%) .727 (+16%) 1762.1
1980 ML4 AL 111 450 81 137 29 2 9 37 34 48 48 .304 .264 (+15%) .326 (+14%) .387 (+13%) .714 (+13%) 1209.4
1981 ML4 AL 64 251 45 67 11 0 2 19 10 25 29 .267 .255 (+4%) .320 (+6%) .368 (-9%) .688 (-2%) 5.7
1982 ML4 AL 160 666 136 201 26 8 19 71 41 69 93 .302 .261 (+16%) .324 (+13%) .388 (+16%) .712 (+15%) 2029.5
1983 ML4 AL 152 608 95 164 28 6 15 47 41 59 74 .270 .260 (+3%) .324 (+3%) .389 (+5%) .714 (+4%) 469.2
1984 ML4 AL 13 46 3 10 1 0 0 6 1 2 8 .217 — — — — 0.0
1985 ML4 AL 140 576 93 171 28 3 10 48 21 54 80 .297 .257 (+15%) .323 (+10%) .390 (+4%) .714 (+7%) 866.3
1986 ML4 AL 105 437 62 123 24 6 9 55 20 40 81 .281 .257 (+9%) .325 (+4%) .395 (+8%) .720 (+6%) 456.6
1987 ML4 AL 118 465 114 164 41 5 16 75 45 69 67 .353 .262 (+34%) .331 (+32%) .415 (+36%) .746 (+34%) 3394.8
1988 ML4 AL 154 609 115 190 34 6 13 60 41 71 54 .312 .254 (+23%) .317 (+21%) .377 (+20%) .695 (+20%) 2585.0
1989 ML4 AL 155 615 84 194 35 4 11 56 27 64 67 .315 .254 (+24%) .319 (+18%) .375 (+17%) .694 (+18%) 2238.3
1990 ML4 AL 103 418 64 119 27 6 12 45 18 37 51 .285 .257 (+10%) .324 (+6%) .385 (+20%) .710 (+14%) 974.5
1991 ML4 AL 158 665 133 216 32 13 17 75 19 77 62 .325 .255 (+27%) .323 (+23%) .384 (+27%) .708 (+25%) 3578.3
1992 ML4 AL 158 609 89 195 36 7 12 89 31 73 66 .320 .255 (+25%) .322 (+21%) .377 (+22%) .699 (+22%) 2717.7
1993 TOR AL 160 636 121 211 37 5 22 111 22 77 71 .332 .265 (+25%) .332 (+21%) .403 (+26%) .735 (+24%) 3307.6
1994 TOR AL 115 454 86 155 30 4 14 75 20 55 48 .341 .269 (+27%) .338 (+21%) .424 (+22%) .763 (+22%) 2070.2
1995 TOR AL 130 525 63 142 31 2 15 60 12 61 57 .270 .266 (+1%) .337 (+3%) .417 (+1%) .755 (+2%) 302.2
1996 MIN AL 161 660 99 225 41 8 9 113 18 56 72 .341 .269 (+26%) .340 (+15%) .426 (+10%) .767 (+12%) 1706.9
1997 MIN AL 135 538 63 164 32 4 10 89 11 45 73 .305 .266 (+14%) .336 (+4%) .419 (+4%) .756 (+4%) 329.1
1998 MIN AL 126 502 75 141 29 5 4 69 9 45 41 .281 .266 (+6%) .335 (avg) .420 (-9%) .755 (-5%) -469.6
Career · 21 seasons 2,683 10,835 1,782 3,319 605 114 234 1,307 504 1,094 1,244 .306 — — — — 29,073

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
29 117 28 43 5 3 6 22 12 15 .368

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1993 ALCS TOR 6 23 7 9 2 1 1 5 3 3 .391
1993 WS TOR 6 24 10 12 2 2 2 8 3 0 .500
1982 ALCS ML4 5 19 4 6 1 0 2 5 2 3 .316
1982 WS ML4 7 31 5 11 0 0 0 3 2 4 .355
1981 AEDIV ML4 5 20 2 5 0 0 1 1 2 5 .250

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (2683 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home134052929031676116672.317
Away134355438791643118635.296

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1998-09-27 MINCLEW 412000000
1998-09-26 MINCLEL 311000110
1998-09-25 MINCLEW 300000021
1998-09-23 MINCHWW 611000000
1998-09-21 MINCHWL 402100100
1998-09-20 MINDETW 310000010
1998-09-19 MINDETL 513101301
1998-09-18 MINDETL 501100000
1998-09-16 MINCLEL 512000100
1998-09-14 MINSEAL 401000002

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 197 196 1716 127 18 169
2B 400 392 926 1274 48 279
3B 791 788 642 1639 121 185
OF 50 51 123 5 3 1
SS 57 54 99 196 18 30

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1978 ML4 2B 91 87 197 283 12 57
1978 ML4 3B 1 1 2 0 0 0
1978 ML4 SS 31 31 54 118 10 17
1979 ML4 2B 122 121 289 413 15 81
1979 ML4 SS 10 9 20 27 1 3
1980 ML4 2B 91 90 240 294 16 80
1980 ML4 3B 1 1 1 1 0 0
1980 ML4 SS 12 11 19 41 4 10
1981 ML4 OF 46 47 119 4 3 1
1982 ML4 3B 150 150 128 340 29 48
1982 ML4 SS 4 3 6 10 3 0
1983 ML4 3B 146 147 105 343 16 37
1984 ML4 3B 7 7 7 21 2 3
1985 ML4 3B 135 133 126 263 19 30
1986 ML4 3B 91 91 82 170 15 25
1986 ML4 OF 4 4 4 1 0 0
1987 ML4 2B 19 18 35 49 0 16
1987 ML4 3B 41 40 25 64 5 8
1988 ML4 2B 1 1 1 1 0 0
1988 ML4 3B 105 104 86 187 17 15
1989 ML4 2B 16 15 28 44 1 9
1989 ML4 3B 112 112 78 243 17 18
1990 ML4 1B 37 36 325 25 5 28
1990 ML4 2B 60 60 136 190 4 36
1990 ML4 3B 2 2 2 7 1 1
1991 ML4 1B 46 46 389 32 6 52
1992 ML4 1B 48 48 461 26 2 44
1993 TOR 1B 23 23 178 14 3 16
1994 TOR 1B 5 5 47 3 0 6
1996 MIN 1B 17 17 138 13 1 13
1997 MIN 1B 12 12 99 7 1 6
1998 MIN 1B 9 9 79 7 0 4

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
First Base 197
Second Base 400
Third Base 792
Shortstop 57
Left Field 4
Center Field 42
Right Field 4
Designated Hitter 1174

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1998 Branch Rickey Award
1998 MLB Players Choice Man of the Year
1997 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1996 Outstanding DH Award
1996 Silver Slugger DH
1996 TSN All-Star DH
1994 Player of the Week Week of 1994-07-23
1994 TSN All-Star DH
1993 Babe Ruth Award DH
1993 Outstanding DH Award
1993 Player of the Month May
1993 Silver Slugger DH
1993 TSN All-Star DH
1993 World Series MVP
1992 Player of the Week Week of 1992-08-29
1989 Player of the Month September
1988 Silver Slugger DH
1987 Hutch Award
1987 Player of the Week Week of 1987-08-15
1987 Player of the Week Week of 1987-08-22
1987 Silver Slugger DH
1987 TSN All-Star DH
1982 Player of the Week Week of 1982-09-17
1978 TSN Rookie Player of the Year

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1998 MIN AL $4,250,000
1997 MIN AL $3,500,000
1996 MIN AL $2,025,000
1995 TOR AL $4,500,000
1994 TOR AL $4,025,000
1993 TOR AL $3,650,000
1992 ML4 AL $3,453,333
1991 ML4 AL $3,243,333
1990 ML4 AL $2,600,000
1989 ML4 AL $2,100,000
1988 ML4 AL $1,400,000
1987 ML4 AL $1,260,000
1986 ML4 AL $1,160,000
1985 ML4 AL $950,000
Total Career Earnings $38,116,666

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
University of Minnesota Minneapolis MN 1975, 1976, 1977

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1996 Most Valuable Player AL 13th 19.0 392 0
1994 Most Valuable Player AL 18th 9.0 392 0
1993 Most Valuable Player AL 2nd 209.0 392 0
1992 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 63.0 392 0
1991 Most Valuable Player AL 11th 51.0 392 0
1988 Most Valuable Player AL 8th 50.0 392 0
1987 Most Valuable Player AL 5th 125.0 392 0
1982 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 29.0 392 0
1979 Most Valuable Player AL 20th 8.0 392 0
1978 Rookie of the Year AL 2nd 3.0 28 3

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Paul Molitor (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Roberto Alomar HOF
    .300 avg, 210 HR
  2. 91
    Derek Jeter HOF
    .310 avg, 260 HR
  3. 83
    Craig Biggio HOF
    .281 avg, 291 HR
  4. 79
    Robin Yount HOF
    .285 avg, 251 HR
  5. 72
    Barry Larkin HOF
    .295 avg, 198 HR
  6. 70
    Rod Carew HOF
    .328 avg, 92 HR

Compare Paul Molitor

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Molitor's closest peers by position and era.

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vs David Ortiz
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vs Shohei Ohtani
vs Ted Simmons
vs Dan Plesac

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Frequently Asked Questions about Paul Molitor

What years did Paul Molitor play?
Paul Molitor played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1998.
Was Paul Molitor a pitcher?
No. Paul Molitor was a position player (Designated Hitter).
How many home runs did Paul Molitor hit?
Paul Molitor hit 234 career home runs with 3319 hits.
Is Paul Molitor in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Paul Molitor was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004.