Baseball

AL Manager of the Year Paul Molitor puts Christ first in his life

By Jason Romano Nov 15, 2017
Twins manager Paul Molitor with pitcher Mike Pelfrey in a 2015 game. (Photo Courtesy: Keith Allison/CC License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode)

Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor was named American League Manager of the Year for 2017.

In his 3rd season as manager of the Twins, Molitor led his club to an 85-77 record, an improvement of 26 wins from the season before and the biggest increase in the history of baseball. Minnesota also became the first team to make the playoffs following a 100-loss season.

Paul Molitor isn’t just a good manager, he was one of the greatest players in baseball history. He made his debut in 1978 at the age of 21 with the Milwaukee Brewers and 20 years later, in 1998, he finished his career with 3,319 hits, 7 All-Stars, 1993 World Series MVP and a World Series champion.

In 2004, Molitor was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, where he openly shared about his Christian faith and how salvation in Christ is the reason for all of his success.

“I’d like to thank God for His many many blessings in my life, including my salvation that he’s allowed me through his son Jesus,” Molitor told the crowd in Cooperstown, NY. “I know the gift that I have to play this game came from him. Why someone could hit a 95 mile-per-hour fastball and someone else can’t, certainly isn’t something you can take credit for. So, Lord I give you all the glory for the things you’ve allowed me to accomplish including being inducted into the Hall of Fame.”

You can watch the entire Hall of Fame speech from Molitor below

Molitor says it was during his time in college at the University of Minnesota (1975-77) that he began his walk with the Lord.

“It was through a friend on my college baseball team who was active with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) where I was exposed to FCA and heard the message about having a relationship with Christ,” Molitor said. “It was in my junior year at Minnesota when I made the decision to accept Christ as Lord and Savior.”

Molitor signed a new three-year contract extension at the end of the 2017 season that will keep him in Minnesota through 2020.

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