My annual Paul Molitor post
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Hey all, I was sad Molitor didn't get a good card last year so was pleased to see he's featured in the nickname series at the moment.
Unfortunately, his card's nickname wasn't really his nickname -- I've excerpted this from https://seamheads.com/blog/2012/12/13/the-ignitor-sic-paul-molitors-misspelled-misconstrued-and-misunderstood-hall-of-fame-career/
Molitor was a noted first-pitch swinger rather than a batter who worked the count, but as Jerry Remy, an appreciative opponent, noted, Molitor only swung at good first pitches. Asked if Molitor, in the 20th century, was a model for the taut, simplified 21st century batting style, Minnesota general manager Terry Ryan exclaimed, “You got that right!”
“One of my most memorable baseball experiences took place in 1992, when I stood right behind the batting cage in Milwaukee during batting practice and watched Molitor take his cuts,” Gabriel Schechter, a leading baseball researcher and writer, told me. “Not a single Molitor muscle twitched until the ball was right in front of the plate, when suddenly he’d pivot and smack a line drive somewhere. His feet barely turned; it was all hips and wrists. Fantastic.” Molitor was a fast runner, but his steals came from good instincts and considerable study as well as pure speed. He knew pitchers’ tendencies — what body movements signaled throws home rather than pickoffs, what pitchers threw on what count, what catchers were easiest to steal on. He could have written a PhD thesis on base stealing.Called Paulie by some, Molitor also endured the nicknames Molly and Ignitor [sic], the latter misspelled apparently because it rhymed with Molitor. “Aside from it’s not even being spelled right, it’s a terrible nickname,” he said. “I never once entered a room, and my friends said, ‘Hey, it’s the Ignitor!’ ”
Those who watched him sparkling at the plate might defend the moniker — properly spelled as Igniter — because of the way he ignited rallies and teammates to perform at their best. “Paulie had a way about him where if you gave him a chance, he could always beat you,” the late Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson said. “He’s what I call a winning player, like Joe Morgan. They’re just winners.”
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@Kyuss_XBL said in My annual Paul Molitor post:
So do you like the card this year?
Just earned it, haven't taken it online yet. I've never had a lot of luck hitting with Molitor cards online so we'll see how this one plays. I don't blame the card, though, as I'm not a great hitter. I think in skilled hands the swing would produce. I'd love to hear from anyone higher up the skill tree, if they like the card?
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I'm bad at this game so my opinion is probably wrong but I really like him so far. He doesn't have the power that people want for an online roster spot but I don't play online so he fits in on my team. With the Vaughn captain boost he's really good too.
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Yes, love the Paul Molitor info. Cool read. I’ll grab his card first thanks to this post.
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2 or 3 years ago he had i think a signature series card that raked
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I took Paul as my choice. You can build a nice Brewers team with a big Power boost (+15 R and L) with the Greg Vaughn captain.
I had Tellez(WBC) at 1st, Molitor at 2nd, Turang (Topps Now) at SS, Braun LS captain at 3rd, Contreras LS catching, Vaughn at DH, Garrett Mitchell (TN) in CF, Weimers (TN) in RF, Charisma Yelich in LF and Sal Frelick on the bench or flipped with Weimers.
Once Vaughn is P1, they all get +15 Power against both and +10 Con vs L
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I always forget how fast he was. I also enjoy using his cards every year. Great contact, lots of positional flexibility, and he makes a really great lead off hitter. I am old (39), so I prefer playing with legends over active players as much as possible.
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@b00std_mark_II said in My annual Paul Molitor post:
2 or 3 years ago he had i think a signature series card that raked
That was a decent card. Some of his cards have no power and not enough speed, which doesn't seem right given how quick he was and how timely his XBHs could be. I don't know if this is still up to date, but he was the only player in baseball history with 3000 hits, a .300 average, 500 steals and 200 homers (hat tip to the article again). The better of his two cards last year (a 2nd Half Heroes) was rated 60/64 for speed/steal, and really no power. He finished second in MVP that year behind Frank Thomas and won the world series MVP with an OPS of 1.4 and slugging .900 (two doubles, two triples, two homers). I know the 2nd Half card wouldn't factor postseason, but he OPSd .900 during the regular season too, with 37 doubles, 5 triples and 22 homers, and walking more than striking out. I honestly couldn't understand why he'd get a 2nd Half card from 1993 with ratings really nowhere near what he did that year. I just checked back to The Show 20 for his Silver Slugger card, and that was about the same as the 2nd Half card from The Show 22. The Signature card from 21 had a bit more power and a lot more speed. I'd love to have a card for his postseason from 93, and if it was going to be accurate it would be massively dangerous!
