Paul Molitor, Class of 2004

0:00All-EL Milature Milwaukee AL 1978-1992 Toronto AL 1993-1995 Minnesota AL 1996-1998 are remarkably consistent contact hitter and aggressive bass runner with extraordinary instincts. One of three players with more than 3,000 hits, 600 doubles and 500 steals. A career 306 hitter ranks eighth all time with 3,319 hits. Hit safely in 39 consecutive games in 1987. A great clutch performer as evidenced by his record five hits in game one of the 1982 World Series for the Brewers and World Series MVP honors for the champion Blue Jays in 1993. He elected to seven all-star teams. Paul, you shared before you started this conversation that you can't remember the last

1:00time. You actually read all those lines on that amazing plaque in Cooper's Town. So as you do so today, which words and which lines stand out the most? Well, first of all, it sounded a lot better when Bud Sealeague read it then when I just read it myself hard to imagine 22 years ago. I think it's still kind of a humbling feeling to read that. I think having your name on it is probably the number one thing. You are on a plaque in Cooper's Town when the actual verbiage in the plaque. I would say athletes strive to be consistent. So that's meaningful to me. And one of my favorite parts of baseball is bass running. And I always thought that it was an overlooked part of the game. It's a key aspect to teams being successful throughout a long season and took a lot of pride in trying to run the basses properly. So those are a couple of things that stand out to me, John.

2:02Paul, you think about the emotion of induction Sunday and you're looking out over all those people, the thousands of people at the Clark Sports Center. You alluded to the fact that your owner and Milwaukee for all those years, Bud Sealeague is there as the commissioner. Your dear friend and teammate, Robin Yow, is right there as well. How much comfort did you feel on that day knowing that people that were very central to your story were literally right there behind you? Well, it's helpful to have a few very familiar faces up on that stage with you, but there's really no way to prepare for what it's actually going to feel like, what emotions you might have to sort through as you go up there. You know, another thing I think about is, yeah, great. It was great. I went to Robin's induction in 1990, nine along with George Brett and Nolan Ryan. And that was my first trip ever to Cooper's town. So I kind of knew how that worked.

3:02And so I think that was helpful too. When you get up there as much as you have the thousands of people in the crowd, it's more the people that behind you that create that. I won't say intimidating, but your boy who'd hear those, a lot of the people that kind of drove your dream for you were sitting behind me. There were some contemporaries, Robin George, Aussie people like that, they went to but it was the, it's the other guys, you know, it's, it's co facts and maze and, you know, it's just the gifts and you can lie and you just go through the people, harm and kill with my boy who it here all actually was honored at that, at that induction in 2004. So you go through a lot, but having those guys there, having seen Robin going in and of course, Mr. Suleed has been nothing but great to me for over 50 years. So I was really happy that he was able to be the one to introduce me at that particular induction. One of my favorite questions to ask Paul and I often ask it right after the induction

4:05ceremony is what are some of those quieter moments away from the stage that meant the most to you? Whether it was at the members dinner, someone that you met for the first time or maybe a quiet moment with your family. What are some of those moments behind the scenes that really only you remember that are dearest to you right now? Well, I think, you know, unfortunately, both my parents had passed and a lot of the time and preparing, you know, you go through your speech multiple times and try to make sure that you can find your way through it and it kind of tries to, and you try to depict what you're feeling and people that you want to be grateful for as part of the journey. I just think that those moments when I was working on that, talk myself, cause me a lot of reflection about my upbringing, what family meant to me, particularly my parents. And those, that's when I felt the most emotion. The most emotion. I think when you're actually up there, the fact that you've gone through it so many times

5:08makes it a little bit easier to get through your actual speech, but it was those quiet times that I reflected about the journey and the, you know, the tremendous input that these people had, particularly my mom and dad. Paul, could you send me back into what the, the milder household was like when you're maybe 10 years old. I love that you mentioned during your speech. You've got six sisters, your brother, David, your parents. What was, what was the energy like in that household every day? Well, six girls in a house is a little bit trying, you know, I always tell people the reason I got out to play sports was just to get out of the house, but it was a great family atmosphere. And you know, I, I am blessed in the fact that yes, I lost my parents, but all my siblings are still living. And so, you know, my thing, my youngest sister is 66 and my oldest sister is approaching 80. And so I feel really fortunate about that. But our whole household was one little bit of chaos. My dad worked tirelessly to try to support a large family.

6:11My mom was to stay home mom, cook the meals, took care of all the things I'm inside. And not in a boastful kind of way, but as my athletic career developed, a lot of our activities kind of revolved around things that I was doing even at the high school level. My, my siblings used to get a little bit anger, and at dinner time, always dependent on when Paul's game was over. And so we kind of had to go on that type of a schedule to make it work. You mentioned in your speech, Paul, the work ethic of your father, Richard. And I wonder as a young boy, what were the ways in which you saw those traits of his really come to the forefront? Well, you know, that generation, there was not a lot of emotion thrown by someone by your parents, particularly your dad. It's more take care of what you need to do to support your family. But the work ethic thing was we only had one car and my dad did not drive to work. He would get up before all of us. He'd walk the three blocks down to the bus station and the bus stop and take his bus to

7:16work downtown St. Paul. And then we knew every day that if we were outside at 4.35 o'clock, we were going to see our dad come and walk and up those same three blocks. You know, five days a week, we went traveling some for his job as an accountant with the Berlin to Northern Railroad. But just the fact that how consistent he was and the sacrifices he had to make, to make both just something simple like walking those three blocks and when it's 20 below inches on the middle of winter. But he was just so consistent the way he went about it. And I think that left a very large impression on me. I loved Paul during your speech when you mentioned that your mom, Kathleen, had watched Roy Campanella and Willie Mays played back when there was triple A baseball there in Minnesota of course there is now again. But what were those stories like that your mom would tell about watching the great Willie Mays in those days? Well, you know, back St. Paul was a lively team for I'm not sure. I think there was a couple different ones that actually played there at different times.

8:18And so some of the big names came through there at various junctions of their rise to the big leagues. And my mom, whether it was with her sisters or her mom, they used to go in those games every day. And I'm trying to think of a park in St. Paul, where they would take him those ball games. But she was able to share some of those memories, not specifically, you know, it doesn't remember Mays hitting the home run or what Campanella might have done behind the plate. But enough to know that I knew she had a connection to baseball. So as my time in the game, high school college, you know, professionally, she knew the game and never really was trying to overly contribute in terms of trying to tell me how to flare what to do. But it was nice to know that she was such a huge fan, which wrote it all the way back to her upbringing in St. Paul as well. It is amazing, Paul. And you think about the number of Hall of Famers from your hometown at the time that you went in. It was you and Dave Winfield and subsequent lead Jack Morris and then Joe Maurer.

9:19I remember before, Maurer's induction, I was getting ready to cover it. And I called the great Pat Royce. I said, Pat, I need you to in my own minds. I so I can figure out where everybody grew up, where the parks were. And so Pat took me through all of it. But it does, it does seem to me, Paul, how unique St. Paul is that that it is park related, the neighborhood park where you played the neighborhood park where Dave Winfield played for those that don't know how close together are all those parks. Well, in the proximity, it's probably a lot more close than people could even begin to imagine. I think Dave and I probably grew up about five blocks apart. He was closer to the field where we played a lot of those VFW and American Legion games. So Dave was, I mean, he was a legend in St. Paul. I was always just missing Dave. I was an eighth grader and he was a 12th grader when I was graduating high school. He was finishing his four years at the University of Minnesota.

10:20Only two or three miles away is where Joe and Jack played. And obviously I knew about Joe since he was a kid because one of my high school teammates told him about him, Jim Neil coached him through a lot of his developmental years. So I was aware of Joe since he was about 10 years old. And Jack, Jack was a rival in high school and Legion ball. It was kind of funny in that Jack was always known as it's in our time frame. He had the best arm in the city, but he was very wild. He was known for hitting people and creating a lot of traffic jam but having this stuff to get out of it, which kind of changed by the time he went to Brigham Young and got himself to the big leagues with the tires. But yeah, so that back to your original question, we weren't too far apart when you consider four guys from a Northern climate, probably more known for hockey than baseball. So I'm out of four guys to Cooper Sound. And you were though this. I think there's one city that has five, correct?

11:22I think LA and I believe so Ozzy Smith and Eddie Murray were teammates. So high school teammates and then Tampa, Tampa has a lot now with McGriff and Rudy and Rusa and Wade Boggs, of course, that area too. Well, it's funny. I went with the Ozzy connection. We were in the same draft and we played against each other and instructionally back in 1977 when they used to have that after the season. We're doubting Arizona together playing each other. And that was the first time I got a chance to see Ozzy play and obviously a very indelible impression from the get go and he went on to be probably the old town granite shortstop in the history of the game. I would agree on that. And I believe I read the story. Correct me if I'm wrong. Was there ever a basketball game that you played against Jack Morris in Minnesota back in the day? We, you know, short story is, Jack went to a public school and I went to a private school. So back then the state tournaments, they, we had our own tournament, but we did play

12:22each other non conference games and the like. And yeah, Jack was as vice champion basketball court as he was on the mound. I think you knew on a throw throw an elbow or two when it was around the rim. But yeah, good memories. And he probably know too, Jack had a tremendous athlete and his brother Tommy, a left-hand a pitcher who at that time, everyone thought was going to be better than Jack, but Tommy ran into some arm issues along the way and never was able to see his dream fulfill. Paul, when you think about your journey and playing for the Brewers, it is difficult to mention you without also mentioning Robin Yowne. And I had a wonderful conversation with Robin on the road to Cooper's town as well. And one of my favorite stories was as he recounted the fascinating chain of events that led to your first opportunity in the major leagues as you may recall and you're smiling as I'm asking the question, there was an injury that was subsequently revealed to have been via a motorcycle accident.

13:22There was a rumor going around spring trend that Yowne was all of a sudden going to take up golf. Turns out that was a bit exaggerated. But here is the clip of Robin Yowne describing that remarkable spring that led to your major league debut. That's this whole conspiracy thing that I'm one of different contract and I, or, and if I don't get it, I'm going to play golf. Well, that's was the furthest thing from the truth. But as things, I believe oftentimes are meant to be, Paul Molotter that year had been, I think he might have been just sent out or they said, okay, you're going to triple A in a couple of day, whatever. Well, I, he starts playing shortstop and I'm not able to play opening day and Molotter makes the team as our shortstop that year. So I'm, I'm ready to play. I don't remember whether it was a week, 10 days, two weeks into the season. I'm finally healthy enough where I can play.

14:24So I come back, Molotter is doing so good at shortstop. They can't send him out. That he goes over to second base when I'm ready. And again, Nirm who was our second base, then goes to third base and done money becomes a D8. So Molotter's career started that way and I don't know whether they had plans for him to make the team or not that year, but it certainly wasn't going to be a shortstop if I was healthy. And I think your thoughts Paul about that, that story as you're reflecting on that amazing spring of 1978. Well, I'm glad to hear Robin finally tell the truth. It's been 40, 50 years. You know, it was strange because I was a young kid in my first major league camp and we got down and I was basically down to the last cut and I'll fully expect it to be playing the Myer League ball. I didn't know where I was going. I got sent out. I think Triple A was the Brewer's club at that time in Spulcan.

15:28So I get sent out and I pack up my bag. I go to the hotel that night. I got a call and said, Hey, we need you to come back to major league camp for one more day. And I didn't really understand what that was about, but I went back and when I went back to the next day, there was no Robin. And I wasn't in a position to ask a lot of questions. I heard the rumors like everybody else about golf didn't really believe it. And as it turned out, as Robin very, uh, stuitly described, it was nowhere near the truth about the golf rumors. He had had an injury. He wasn't able to play. I think there might be a little bit of a component where his first four years in the big leagues were tough. Brewer's had lost a lot of games and I don't know if he was having a lot of games. I don't know if he was having a joy that he thought he might. And so there was some of that possibly circulating, at least that's kind of my impression, but there was no doubt when he got healthy, he was going to come back. And the other little correction I think in my memory was that the second baseman to start

16:35this season was a player by the name of Lenny Secata. Jim Gannon was more of a utility player and Lenny didn't get off to a great start at second. And then Robin did come back. I was bumped over a second base. And so we were able to be a combination at those two positions for I think three or four years before Gannon started to emerge in South Bander retired and then there was some resuffling of the infield. But forever Robin and my link to me getting my initial first game in the big leagues are directly linked together and turns out Robin my best friend in baseball and I'll start a way back in 1978 in spring training in Sun City, Arizona. You mentioned Jim Gannon, Paul and for the brewer fans listening, they know, but I want to ask this question on behalf of the other 29 fan bases because he is such an important person in the history of the brewers. Of course, he's from Wisconsin plays at a small college and goes out of this great career. How do you describe the importance of Jim Gannon to that generation of brewery teams?

17:38Well, he was, he was telling the heart and soul of our team. You know, they have an award down a ward now in baseball every year, the hustle and hard award or whatever. Jimmy won a one that in multiple years for the brewers and you know, being a local kid, he grew up on a little town called Eat called Eden, Wisconsin, which was about an hour out on Milwaukee. And to be honest, I don't think Jimmy would take this as a knock. He was an overachiever. You know, he didn't have great power. He probably couldn't run all that well, but he found a way to impact games. I think he has one of the highest defensive fielding percentages in the history of second baseman. So for him to get that opportunity to become an everyday player after serving some years as a utility player, it was just and he backed it up by playing as well as he did. You know, Robin and Jimmy and I ended up playing 15 years together. And for a long time, that was the longest tenure of three teammates in the major leagues until a few guys on the Yankees changed it.

18:41I think it was Pulsada and Pettit and Jiggyder. I think they had a plank 16 or 17 years maybe longer together. But I think you know, Jimmy was a character. He had a little bit of Yogi in him that you never sure quite was going to come out of his mouth. He used to say, yeah, Robin, Paulie and me were two of the kind. So now you know, you know, we're quite sure what Jimmy would come up with. But I can joke about Jimmy, but like I said at the beginning, he was the heart and soul of those breweries back in the late 70s and early 80s. If you love baseball and its history, become a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in addition to being part of preserving baseball history and supporting the museum's nonprofit mission, members receive a full roster of benefits, including six editions of Memories and Dreams magazine, a Hall of Fame yearbook and complimentary admission to the Hall of Fame. Join today or give to membership to the baseball fan in your life at baseballhall.org slash

19:46join. You've had a trip to Cooperstown on your bucket list for years, right? It's time to move Cooperstown from the bucket list to the to do list. Once inside the museum, you'll be odd by priceless artifacts and moved by stories and triumphs that inspired and united a nation. Find your way to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and you'll make history of your own. Visit baseballhall.org slash visit to plan your trip today. If you are enjoying this podcast, please remember to like, subscribe and leave comments on your podcast feed and leave us a five star review so we can continue to bring you great interviews every week. Fall you mentioned the versatility that Ganner had and certainly it's part of your story too. You started more than a hundred games at second base and did it at five times at third base and of course you had eight years where you made a hundred starts as a DH. When a young person who wants to hear about your career might ask you, Mr. Molder, what

20:50position did you play? What answer to usually give them? I might ask sir, my center and answer to really, I will be mostly third base. I think I had more games there defensively than any other position. I never really thought I was going to be a DH. I love defense. I love the challenge of helping your team get off the field. The Brewers came to a conclusion at some point. I was injury prone. I can't distill that that wasn't accurate. They tried to find a way to get my bad end of the line up more consistently. After I had moved from second to third when Cell Bander retired and Ganner proved ready to be an everyday player. I went to the outfield for one year, bounced around until kind of settled in the third base for quite a while. The DH role came about mainly because I just wasn't able to keep myself on the field and I thought they'd get that bad end of the line up more consistently. It was turned out to be true. I certainly thought it in the beginning.

21:51I didn't want to be relegated to a DH role, but it turned out to be so. Then that proved not only to extend my career, but very directly impacted the fact that I was able to get the Cooper style. Was there ever a time, Paul, in the 80s where you started to wonder, I'm not sure how much longer I can play because of the injuries. Did it ever get to that point where you thought you were close to having to walk away? I think a big part of athletes' success. I always say, your level of success is directly related to how well you handle adversity. I was down multiple times mentally about having to rehab another injury whether it was a torn half-stringing or broken finger or tie John surgery. I was the first position player to ever have tell me John surgery. I happened early in the year. I missed basically the whole year, I think in 1984. Yeah. I used to think our injury is going to cut my career short.

22:55The positive, John, was that when you miss so many games, when you're young, there's something about not that you don't respect the game, but it improves your respect in terms of when your uniform is on and when your name is on the line up when you got to play. I think I was able to maintain more of a youthful outlook on playing as I got older, even though I had to overcome a lot of injuries when I was younger. I think I was on the DL like 12, 13 times in my first 10 years in the big leagues and I think I was only on a couple of times counter or two that I think I got healthier as I got older. Part of that was the D.H. thing for sure. I got a lot of the games on the back and back from games I got taken away when I was younger. Paul, you mentioned just the the adversity that you went through in the first part of your career. I know you've really inspired and given power to a lot of people as you talked about your struggle of substance abuse during that first portion of your career. When you talk with young people, how much do you focus on that angle of handling the pressure

24:01and being able to make your own peace with that pressure in a healthier way? I appreciate the question. To be honest with you, I'm not out there doing some things now that I did maybe near the end of my career trying to use the negative situation and turn it into a positive and maybe help some people that were going through some issues whether it was all different types of potential addictions, obviously, to your addiction. We're a huge part of the baseball culture in the late 70s and early 80s and I got kind of stuck into that for a little while. But by the grace of God to tell you the truth, I was able to get through it and continue my career. You talk about the injuries going through some of those things were very challenging. But once I was able to realize this was not who I wanted to be, I did try to find a ways to turn that around into a positive. They allowed us speaking, spoke out pretty transparently about some of the things I'd experienced. It's still kind of funny for me now to talk about it some 50 years later after that chapter

25:04of my life. But obviously things that we endure, things that we survive through eventually make it stronger and I'm sure that was the case with myself. And you think about too, just the playing college baseball in your home area, your drafted by a team is pretty close. It's just, you think about pressure and I'm sure in your career as a manager and a coach and a mentor as well, Paul, that I would imagine if I was a young player who was a first-round pick, I'd want to hear what you had to say because not a lot of people can understand what it's like to have that focus on you of playing college ball in your hometown, first-round pick and all that pressure, right? That's got to be a difficult thing to make your peace with. Well, you go back to talk part of our original conversation. There was pressure in my family. I mean, you're kind of like I said, your family dynamic starts to circle around what you're able to do athletically. But as far as being a local kid, a college kid, a university Minnesota, at the beginning

26:05of your baseball career, it's overwhelming when you first get there and some people, including myself, make some poor decisions. But it paid off not only that, it helped me appreciate being healthy and clean or whatever you want to call when I played, but when I coached and managed, I heard rumors and things in the club house, it was about different guys that were struggling with different things. And I think that I was able to help a lot of people. Managing comes down to winning and losing, that's kind of how a fan base is going to determine whether you were good at or poor at it. But I always try to look at trying to help develop young men in their character and their integrity. And some of my own life experiences I was able to share with some of the younger players that I was involved with and mentored. I feel was impactful. And so I'm grateful that I had that chance. Well, you think about the veteran players around you, Paul, I go back to the early 1980s and of course the amazing team in 1982.

27:07And one veteran on that team who had just arrived is someone that you now see every year and Cooper's down on that's Ted Simmons, who had began his career with the sandwich cartels and became a really important player on those 82 brewers along with Raleigh fingers, of course, Hall of Famer as well. And I had a wonderful conversation with Ted as all conversations with Ted are so great to speak with. But we're going to play a clip for you as Ted described the mentality that he had learned from George Kissel that he then shared with your group in Milwaukee that of course had a profound impact on those 82 brewers. Here's Ted Simmons. What was really special for me is I had come from the Kissel mentality of heart and rule, rule baseball. And what they had over there were a few guys that had won like fingers, but they had not co-alist as a team there yet. They didn't understand sacrifice first for the betterment of everybody. I used to have the ABC baseball first batter doubles, second batter gets them over.

28:09Ryeball left field, one run and it doesn't matter if it's molleter or round or gorman or Yolali or Simmons to your job or plan a BC baseball the whole game. That's the great Ted Simmons Paul. What impact did he make on you when he joined that team in Milwaukee? It made a huge impact on me. He forced me to go to my dictionary now and then to understand some of the words that he would use. Obviously tremendous baseball knowledge, but just incredibly smart about life and business and banking and whatever other things he would want to talk about. I remember a time in spring training, he knocked on my door like 1.30 and he said, I want to have a cerebral conversation. He was always looking for something to be simulated by. As far as the philosophy of the brewers, I think there's some accuracy to that.

29:10Nobody had been close. We had been building, I think we were 90 some games my first year in 1978. Got to the mini playoff in 1981 after the two half season after the strike. But Ted brought that, you know, check your eagre at the door. We're kind of fine trying to find the way to get to the next level. And you know the ABC thing that he talks about, he wouldn't just say, you know, okay, he's just a B C, he would, who hours lead now, he says, we need some, uh, and he get unbased and now we need some, uh, and then we need some, you know, so it just kind of made its way to a very unselfish way to play baseball. The other thing about Ted, I will give him credit for and I'm still thankful to this day. It was it, after his first year in 81, he sent me Goren's book on bridge in the winter. And I see goes, I want you to read this book and be ready to play when you get to spring training. So Raleigh fingers and Ted Simmons were against me and Bob Baclore and we played

30:15endless hours of breaks together. And I still enjoyed that game. So I'm thankful for that. But I'm not sure we get to a world series in 82 without Ted Simmons. Did he have the best numbers? No, but there was just some kind of a blue effect they had on that team. Uh, I'm still shaking my head. The brewers have them in back in 44 years, right? They're knocking on the door. Our Murphy's got them playing well. It looks like this year they might be shaping up in terms of being able to compete with the possibly the Dodgers, Felix Padres, who now are in that nationally, heading into October. But yeah, the one my one real series of parents with the brewers 44 years ago, Ted Simmons played a huge role in that. And your game won five hits. What kind of dream is that? So what do you remember most about about that game the first ever five hit game in game one of the world series for you, Paul? But what was that night like for you? Well, I was on the ongoing five hits. You could for sure to see someone get in a game. I think I think I broke a bat and I think Ozzie fielded three of my balls.

31:18But I hit him so poorly that he didn't have a chance to make a play. I remember being nervous, you know, I'm getting there. I just believe for the first time, you know, you grow up a huge fan. You watch the world series on TV ever since you can remember and all of a sudden you're in that arena. It never had been to St. Louis. Obviously, never played in that ballpark. This is way before interleague began. And so just trying to absorb the magnitude of what was transpiring that first game. But thankfully we got off to a good start. You know, I've robbing at four hits in the first game. If your first two hitters get nine hits, you got a pretty good chance to win. And Mike Calgwell was unhiddable and we're able to kind of cake walk our way through that game one with a 10, 10, nothing win as far as the five hits. Like Teddy said, you know, we don't play for the personal things. But I remember running out to the field in the bottom of the ninth inning. And it was kind of an older style message board at Bush. You know, it's not the ones like we see now.

32:21Big typing, it's much said Paul Baller was just on a real Saturday. It's rockers with five hits that are memory going, man, I don't know. 70, 80, however many world seriesers been and no one ever had five hits before. So that was kind of a cool moment. And then of course you end up. It's 11 years later that you're there in in 93. And that had to be Paul a very difficult decision. You leave Milwaukee to go to Toronto. Can you take me through what you were thinking about at the time and why you made I know what was a very difficult decision. Yeah. I wanted to be a lifetime brewer. I mean, I said it publicly. It was my wish. You know, what Mr. Ceeley had done for me. I felt that tremendous connection to the fan base. Robin and Jimmy were still playing my two long time teammates. People think back to that chapter of baseball. It was really where the conversations had started about the splitting of large market and small market. And I got kind of caught in the middle of that.

33:22And I remember meeting with Mr. Ceeley and you know, he said, Hey, we really like to sign you, but we really are already at our budget for next year. And so if you're going to stay here, we're going to have to get creative. And I remember being able to disappoint about that to be honest to do. And they worked through some numbers and, you know, numbers and money. You hate to say it, but it's part of the game. It's part of your choices. And coming back at an incentive based deal, as opposed to a three year guaranteed contract with Toronto at that point, I had to make that decision. And the BRF has let me know they were with some boo birds when I got went back there the following year and I get it. But it turned out it was a kind of eye opening for me to see how other organizations worked to meet some other great people teammates. Paul Beeson and Pat Gilek. I mean, it was the great transition for me as difficult as it was and emotional

34:23as it was when it first transpired. I was, I was feeling like the rookie when I walked into that Dunning clubhouse the first time because I just was, it was so foreign after 15 years of Milwaukee to make that large of a decision and that big of a move at that juncture of my career. But I always say, he couldn't have worked out better. The Blue Jays are coming off their first world series championship and I was convinced by the people at the higher arcades of the Blue Jays that that was a goal to win it again. And it's tough to do tough to win one must let's do it in a row. But that was just an incredible journey that year and to be a part of that team and that amount of talent and to do what we did, I it really kind of affirmed for me that tough decision but a good decision and the right decision. Do you ever tease Joe Carter and say, hey, Joe, I homework before you did that night? You know, I always thought I kind of joked about that. You know, I was fortunate to be given that trophy at the end of that series. But it was overshadowed. Joe had the second

35:29walkoff world series home run ever behind that second of Bill Maserowski, obviously. And so the MVP story was kind of like that was pushed aside a little bit, which was fine with me. I was just relishing that moment. And I was fortunate to be on base when I saw Joe's ball disappeared over that left field fence. I got on base after Ricky had walked the open the inning and you know, it was a one run game. So I'm my first knowing that I'm the potential winning run and talking to John Cruck a little bit and he was out of sure he's talking about where it was it was pretty enjoyable conversation. And when Joe hits that ball the left field, you know, I'm busted at a wrong second base and if that ball hits off the wall, you know, I got a chance to score it. And sure enough, my first sign at the ball went over the fence was not that I saw it go over the fence, but I saw I believe Pete in Convilia, saying his shoulders and realized that Bedman was about to ensue.

36:33The fact that you were talking to Cruck just makes me smile, Paul. What could you possibly have been talking about at that moment in the middle of the game six? The way I see it. Well, you talked more of the difference of 11 years to my first time when I was never seen tire series. I think I think I really was able to kind of savor that second series more so and take in the moments and try to pleasure in it rather than feel the pressure in it. And I think I said to him, but John, I said, I just I told him how much this was so incredibly fun. You know, this game is just incredible. And he said, I don't think I'm having my very much fun right now. It's up to a lot of those lives. I not that we were going to win and it wasn't guaranteed, but I don't know. He must have had some kind of internal foreshadowing that he knew was about to happen. Oh my goodness. Well, and I thought about this too, Paul, looking at the roster from that year. Of course, you weren't number four Milwaukee. Number four in Toronto was Alfredo Griffin. So I wondered as I'm seeing you were 19. Did you ever have a conversation with him about getting your old numbered back or how did that conversation go with Alfredo? No, I didn't because what I saw

37:37with the J's, I remember talking of the clubhouse guy and I asked him about four. And I think Alfredo either had been there before and was coming back because he was there a couple of different times. And I said, well, I'm not going to I'm not going to worry about that. He deserves that number. He's awarded for a long time for that organization. So I said, what do you got available? And they gave me three or four different numbers. And I said, huh, 19. I said, let's go with that. It's one of my favorite pictures that I have is Robin getting on first base when I was playing first base for the J's. And we both kind of have a side profile, but you can clear on the issue of the 19. I'm both a burbax definitely a way to honor my good friend. Oh, that's so cool. Did you around that time? Did he sign a jersey over to you and vice versa? Like I wondered, is Robin Yowd have a Paul Molleter number 19 J's jersey? You know, you see the jersey exchange is all the time. No, I'm doing right. That was kind of free. Pretty signing autographs for people

38:39as far as Jersey than exchanges were concerned. I wish that I had one to be honest with you. But no, we did not make that happen. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a non-profit educational institution dedicated to preserving the game's important history, honoring excellence and connecting generations. You can support the museum by visiting Cooperstown, purchasing from the Hall of Fame shop or consider becoming a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Be part of the game's past, present and future. Learn more at baseballhall.org-support. For those of us who love baseball, there's no better place to visit than Cooperstown and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. And there's no better way to enjoy a visit to the Hall than with a special experience. From guided tours to holding a bat from our collection to renting the sacred plaque gallery for a private party, the museum offers a wide array of unforgettable experiences. Explore our lineup of special experiences at baseballhall.org-special.

39:48When you think about the next decision that you made, you leave Toronto, you go back to your hometown, your home state to play for the twins. What were the reasons why you felt comfortable going home at that stage of your career? Well, I think I was 39 years old, you know, it still was amazing. I still had some teams that were interested in my services. Toronto was definitely going in a different direction with younger players. And when you got guy like Sean Green and Delgado and Alex Gonzalez, you should go in a different direction. And I think that they had talked about me being in a smaller role there. But the twins came forward. And they were coming off a really good second half in the last of 95. And Tom Kelly is a very convincing person. And I said, well, I got a chance to go home, potentially finish my career playing for the team that I followed as a youngster. I get to play for Tom Kelly, who I had a lot of admiration for from the other side of

40:53the field, two time world series champion. And oftentimes players think about if you had a chance to play with guys around the league, who they might be, I used to think of people like maddingly and trample and Kirby bucket. And very appealing to go back to my hometown to finish my career, have my family be able to get into a car and come and watch me play instead of having to get out an airplane and play with Kirby. Those were some of the things that really attracted to me. I didn't just do it because I didn't think we had a chance. I really thought that we would be a competitive team. You know, I thought about that. So I'm winning a world series in Toronto that that less than meet pursuing maybe a more increased chance to reach another world series. I'm not sure. But just too many things to deny as far as making that choice to come home. And that year you put up Paul looked at numbers again, age 39 season, your first year minister of three 41, 225 hits in 161 games. I know it's hard to compare seasons, but I would have

42:03to imagine going home and putting together a year like that at 39 had to be one of your proudest seasons. If perhaps you're proudest year, of course, you get 3000. It's that year too. What was going on that year that'll, how'd you to play at that level at age 39? Well, I've always been an internal motivator not external, but I do remember some of the Minnesota media saying they didn't see the logic and bringing home a 39 year old player to DH. So I was kind of rewarding to have a healthy year, you know, 161 games was probably my career high in the year that I turned 40. And it was a fun team. As you well know, we lost Kirby that spring in terms of being able to play with the glaucoma. He was breaking that spring training too. I remember I, you know, he hit a couple home rods there for my errors and just he was so excited for the season and us hitting potentially three, four in the lineup, all these type of things. So that was that was the downer of that year. But as

43:07far as us being someone competitive, not like had a great year, Marty Cardova, Rich Becker, Pat Mears, we had we had some good players playing 160 one games in a year that I turned 40. I was, I was glad that Tom Kelly wanted me to be example for young players of hotter prepare. You know, there was no recovery days. There was no any of those type of things in the game. And I was able to take the post for every game except one that year. And a small fact statistically that I'd like about that year, I drove it 100 run over 100 runs and hit less than 10 home runs. And I, and I think that there's, I think Rod Carrue did that one time and I try to think maybe tell me heard or so we have two people that ever had less than 10 home runs and drove it in 100. So I don't know why, but that kind of stick out, both, you know, I got to 3000 hits that year at two and 25 hits and all those things. But I remember the fact that I was able to drive in runs even though I could barely

44:09hit the ball over the fence anymore. And we talked about a first earlier in this conversation, the first ever five hit game in the world series. You were also the first ever player to hit a triple for 3000 to right center feed. Myers and Nudley chase it. Myers. The ball drops. Malleter has his 3000 hit and he's chugging for third and he's in with the triple. Paul Malleter becomes the 21st member of baseball 3000 headplough. The only other person to do it since then is each year, which is great company to have. Well, what was that? What was that play like when you realize the ball is downed and I'm still running and not only running, but you're sliding headfirst dirty uniform all down the front. I just I love that play. What was going through your mind as you're running the bases? You know, you're a couple of thoughts on me. First of all, I had done a live interview with one of the Minnesota stations before the game and he asked me, you don't know, was there,

45:12no one's ever gotten a triple for their 3000 hit. And I said, I didn't realize that. And so for that to happen, a couple of other thoughts. One, everyone wants to 3000 hit to be clean. There wasn't a cleanest triple you ever saw. Two all-fooners kind of converged and they kind of, I got it, you take it kind of deal. But it fell and I was running hard, which was hopefully one of my trademarks that I used to try to do fairly consistently, put me in the position to get the third base. And yeah, it's just kind of there's a relief because there's a build up to that number for sure. And I don't know, there wasn't a large crowd in Kansas City on the mid September night. But it was still very meaningful. The reaction to your teammates, your family, all those type of things make it special. Robin was there. He had came in. He had come to Minnesota for the series before I didn't get there. He followed me to Kansas City for one. George Brett's one of his best

46:13friends. And they hung out and watched the game together. So those guys came down in the club all the way after the game. But yeah, it was meaningful to get there. After all the injuries and the stable lists, I was probably a long shot for a long time to get there. I think 2000 to 3000 were the fastest in terms of less games than either the first 1000 or the second 1000. So that's all things that were counterintuitive to finally entering that club the way that I was able to. And the other thing I thought of was each year. I coast them at 2004 when he hit the hit record, which I had absolutely nothing to do with it. But him and I joke about both we having triples for our 3000 hit. The fact that I was able to spend that season with them and now we can share that little bit of baseball trivia together. Well, you love those conversations, Paul. I wonder from having coached each year. And now you see him the last couple summers, of course, in Cooper's town. What does it bed like to compare notes on hitting with each year? What have you learned from

47:16him and those conversations? Well, he can still hit. That's what thing I know. I've seen the video, the long run contest and everything else. He's still doing anything incredible. Shake a couple things about each year. If you got a second. So in spring training, Bob Malvin's manager and Pat Gellick brought me and I was getting coached and the Gellick and Melvin we talked this and we really want each year old to start having a more patient approach at the plate. Trying to increase his on base percentage. He doesn't walk all that much. All these kind of things. So him and I talking spring training and he was more than willing to try that approach. And about two, three weeks in the season, it just wasn't happening. And I remember coming up to him after a game and I said, remember things we talked about spring training. I said, forget everything that we talked about. Go back to being yourself. That year I never had a 50 hit month in the big leaks. 50 hit in the months is pretty good. He had three that year. So think about that. I'm

48:17surprising to get 300 hits. But yeah, so we talk about hitting some. When I coached him, what I realized was if he wanted in today's game, someone asked him to hit 40 homers and hit 250, he could have done that at that time. But he had tremendous vision. I don't think he was a tremendous pitch recognizer as much. He was a great adjuster to the ball in flight. Yeah, just bad to ball skills through the roof. And the other thing was he saw a space almost like a slow softball game. You know how you see guys when they play softball, they see a hole, they out the middle and the whole he could guide the baseball like that. He knew if he could make a shortstop go in a certain direction, he was going to be safe. And I'm not sure the number that year was 262, but it was somewhere 75, 80, maybe even a little bit more infield hits that year. And I was amazed at his back control. And if he knew if he knew he wanted to get a hit, he could look for a pits to hit to a certain

49:19part of the field and knew he had a good chance to beat it out. Do you remember Paul, we talk about all the hits for you? Do you remember your last one in the big leagues when you realized that you were at the end of your career? What was what are those final moments like for you the last hit the way you saved it? Yeah, you know, I was pretty sure that it was going to be my last year. I wasn't want someone to come out and make it an announcement and have any kind of farewell deal. And we didn't have a big crowd in Minnesota. My last couple of games. But it was meaningful because friends and people glad sharing with us probably going to be done. They came out. I remember that before the game they did a video, who's the group that thinks closing time? Oh, semi-sonic. Tell me, Sonic. So they had a video on all that. So it was kind of emotional. But I think it was off. I don't know. So it was Cleveland. I know I got a hit off Bartola Cologne. I think to start that

50:20game, I end up managing in Minnesota. It might have been the dull Jones. I don't even know. Okay. When I got on the base hit and what was fun was I got a chance to go first to third on a borderline ball that I made an aggressive play out. And I think I scored it. Tom Kelly said it was really fun to see you run the base was one more time. And so Tom was a he left me alone and let me play. But he always appreciates the little things in the game that you try to bring to it. And to him to it now is that one little thing about going first to third and my last time around the base was was was pretty special for me. I always love Paul how the Cooper's Town speech and induction Sunday is the capstone of your playing career. But it's also this beginning of a new chapter. And for you, especially so because I remember during your speech, you acknowledged your daughter Julia, who at the time, I believe was 11 months old. And now of course, it's at the beginning of a new family life for you as a dad. Julia, I know at 11 months, you're too young to understand me now,

51:25but I want you to know how much joy you bring me and how much your daddy loves you. Can you share just what what that day meant to you as you marked this new beginning? And I wonder as Julia ever seen that speech should be able to say, I was referencing you when you were 11 months and now of course, it's a couple of decades ago. Yeah, she's seen it and you know, my older daughter, I won't tell her, she wouldn't like that, but she's got a couple of a couple of grand boys with a third one on the way. Then my youngest son, you've seen him in Cooper's dying, yes. He just turned 20 a couple days ago. So the years, the decades, the memories, my younger kids have watched the speech and it's meaningful now that they've both been a Cooper's town a couple of times along the way. They know what the experience is like and sort of share that. And you know, when you make that speech, it's basically six years after the retire and you're preparing for what lies ahead, you know, I had already begun my coaching deal there, but for my kids now, it's not so much

52:26about me playing, it's about me having been their dad through their formative years and they watched me manage the twins and they were supportive of that. But then they saw me turn 70 last week's holiday. It's kind of a, it's different, you know, having younger kids when you're when you're older person, but the relationships I have with my kids are the most meaningful things in my life and always we're and they always will continue to be. Well, happy, bladed birthday, Paul. And as as we begin to close here on the road to Cooper's town, one of our favorite things to do is to read a Cooper's town memory and get your reaction to it. These are written in by supporting members of the Hall of Fame, those that support the Hall of Fame's nonprofit mission. And this letter today comes from David Gunzer-Rath has been a member since 2019 and David writes, my first visit to the Hall of Fame was on August 8th 1978. Of course, back in 78, Paul Mildred's rookie season with the Brewers. As a summer break between our freshmen and sophomore years of

53:27college was winding down, David writes, some buddies and I decided to take a road trip from Pennsylvania to Cooper's town. We marveled at the many artifacts on display from each of our favorite teams. Since then, I've returned to the Hall many times, including trips to several induction ceremonies and Hall of Fame games in the 1980s. After moving to various areas of the country, I returned to the Northeast about 20 years ago. Today, my wife and I have the good fortune of living in New York's Hudson Valley just a couple hours away from Cooper's town. Needless to say, our trips to the Hall have become more frequent in recent years, especially after I began writing a book about baseball's role in the history of Payne Television, for which the Geomadi Research Center and the annual Cooper's Town Symposium have been invaluable resources. It has been 50 years since my first visit to the Hall of Fame, but I still get the same thrill when I walked to the entrance that I did as a 19-year-old. There's that number 19 again, Paul. This letter from

54:28David Gunserrat, member since 2019. So, Paul, when you think about David's memories and I'm sure they recall some of your own, what are your thoughts on David's letter? It's quite letter. It's my first reaction for him in detail to talk about experiences as a younger person, first experiencing Cooper's Town. The fact that even through years and decades, the passion hasn't waned at all. It still carries a special place that is hard every time he experiences something about our game, whether it's watching people play or Cooper's Town. And it's true for so many people. The amazing thing about our game is when you go back to when it originated through the many, many years and great players and Hall of Famers and World Series championships. It's just an incredible

55:28legacy that our sport has. And I know for me, having been able to make a career out of the game, to pursue a dream and have it come into fruition, to be a part of one of the most exclusive groups and professional sports that baseball Hall of Fame. And to be inviting back and hosted the way we are by Jan or staff every year, it's just, it's incredible and I'll never take it for granted. So I can relate to his letter. I can relate to how he views our great game. And I will tell him that I feel the same. Do you have a favorite tradition of your own that you've started through those those summers where do you have a gathering of the same few guys or a golf tradition or just a conversation that you always like to renew every summer? Well, I think a lot of people that will tell you that the Sunday night dinner always takes on special meeting. It's just when the Hall of Famers are in there and of course the commissioner and usually the president of Hall of Fame are the two non-members that are in on the group.

56:29And I remember I don't know how many years ago, but it kind of started happening where all the guys that were more singles hitters, if you will, you know, whether it was Robin and me or Ozzie or I don't know and and and Willie Mays came over and he labeled us the Punch and Judy Table. And so and Willie with his high pitch voice, you know, and guys I'm not a Punch and Judy hitter. I hit 30 old runs one year and this and that and Willie's doing, you can still a Punch and Judy hitter. And it's just going on and on. But those groups, I remember our group forming, we've still kind of stuck together. There was a big pictures group for a long time. It was all the wine connoisseurs. It was Carlton and Seaver and Sutton and co-facts and you know, you just kind of have your group in there. And what's funny is that eventually we at our own table, but the conversation always morphs to include everybody. So you have your guys, but it's all is one.

57:31And that's probably the highlight for me every year in addition to bringing family, is that members only dinner on Sunday night. I love that story. And I'm sure they're probably one of the other favorite things I was like to talk about are the the uncommon friendships that you might see where you're, you're, you're of course an American league hitter from the 80s and 90s. What there might be an NL picture from the 60s or or even the more modern times that becomes that becomes an unlikely friend. Are there a couple guys for you that are in that category? It's true because you know, I played it on early pre-inner league. I did play two years, 97, 98 when we just played your division on the other side. So a lot of those guys that you know, I analyzed, either I didn't play against or they were before my time. And so you know, you get to kind of make friendship. Johnny Benz for me is a guy that I never imagined would be a good friend. And the way that he extends his welcoming arms is tradition of bringing new inductees out under the brand I have to hotel and tells them to just sit down in the rocking chair

58:33and take it all in. I'll never forget 2004 when Johnny did that for me. So the hard part about being in the hall now for 22 years is that when I came in, I talked about the young group, the George's and the Robbins and the Aussies and the Mies. We looked up to that group that I mentioned that I look behind me when I spoke, you know, Killebrew and Gibson and Kofax and Maze and it's the pain of whoever you want to talk about. But we are gradually turning into that group where there are so many new young people that have come in in the past 10 years even that, you know, they kind of look at us as kind of the old guard out, which is just kind of how life is in every, in every facet that eventually you move it from one side of the spectrum to the other. And because I know sometimes tremendous friendships can be formed. Paul is a beautiful reflections that really, and I'm so grateful for your time in this conversation today. You make the hall of fame better by your presence in it and by coming back every summer. And I just, I so admire your path

59:37in the game and the way you represent the this great game of baseball that we love so much Paul. So thank you so much for your time today. All the best and we'll look forward to our next conversation as well. You are good for baseball while you're outstanding at your job. And I can tell from this interview you've done it more than once. So good to be with you. It's my favorite part of what I do, Paul, so that thank you so much for those kind words and we'll look forward to seeing you hopefully in Cooperstown again very soon. That's jumpy. Well, man. Did you have a Cooperstown memory that you'd like to share with the Hall of Famer? Send your story or reported voice memo to road to Cooperstown at SiriusXM.com. Be sure to include your full name and where you're from. And you could hear your memory on a future episode of the Road to Cooperstown. Again, that email address is road to Cooperstown at SiriusXM.com. Include your full name and hometown. If you are enjoying this podcast, please remember to like, subscribe and leave comments on your podcast feed. And leave us a five star review so we can

1:00:38continue to bring you great interviews every week. The Road to Cooperstown airs every Saturday morning on MLB Network Radio with new episodes dropping every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts. SiriusXM podcasts