Jays Journal
FanSided

Top 5 Short-Term Stints in Blue Jays History

By Evan Gignac

Oct 3, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Marcus Semien (10) hits a solo home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Marcus Semien (10) hits a solo home run against the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 6
Next
TORONTO – OCTOBER 23: Paul Molitor #19 of the Toronto Blue Jays swings at a Philadelpia Philles pitch during game 6 of the World Series at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on October 23, 1993. The Blue Jays won 8-6. Molitor was named the MVP of the series. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
TORONTO – OCTOBER 23: Paul Molitor #19 of the Toronto Blue Jays swings at a Philadelpia Philles pitch during game 6 of the World Series at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on October 23, 1993. The Blue Jays won 8-6. Molitor was named the MVP of the series. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images) /

Paul Molitor

Molitor took over for Winfield as the Blue Jays’ DH following the 1992 season. Before his time north of the border he had been a perennial All-Star and MVP finalist, and had been a Milwaukee Brewer for 15 years. He signed a three year deal with the Blue Jays beginning in 1993. His Blue Jays tenure mostly saw him as the DH, with some time playing first base.

He was an integral part of the repeating World Series champion 1993 Blue Jays. You couldn’t have WAMCO without Molitor. Between White, Alomar, Carter, and Olerud, he had the second highest OPS+ amongst them at 143. He trailed only Olerud, who had an historic season himself. Looking at the rest of the league, he led in both plate appearances and hits. This success didn’t end with the regular season, he was a menace in the postseason. He hit .391 in the Championship Series while driving in five runs. He followed this with a World Series MVP winning performance. During the Fall Classic he hit two home runs and drove in seven runs to the tune of a .458 batting average and a 1.452 OPS. These are team-carrying numbers, and he truly had one of the most impactful single seasons in club history.

The two years that followed were par for the course. In the shortened 1994 season he played in all 115 games and hit .341 with a 138 OPS+.  The Blue Jays stumbled into that season’s labour strike at a 55-60 record, despite Molitor’s best efforts. The following 1995 season wasn’t much better. A 56-88 record and a fairly pedestrian season from Molitor concluded his time as a Blue Jay. His OPS+ in 1995 sat at 101, a point above league average.

Nevertheless, his time as a Blue Jay was impactful. A World Series MVP, two All-Star games, an OPS+ of 128, 51 home runs, and 54 stolen bases over the course of 405 games in three seasons (one of them being full) is a remarkable stat line. Molitor left his mark in a big way, despite only spending three seasons in Toronto.

Home/Toronto Blue Jays History