The Paul Molitor fan club has to be restless. Molitor remains a popular Minnesota sports celebrity and as Twins manager has led the club to a contender’s role in the American League Wild Card standings as the closing weeks of the season near.
Yet the Twin Cities native and former Gophers All-American who earned his way to the Hall of Fame with a playing career that included three years with the Twins, is on an uncertain career path. Molitor’s three-year contract as manager ends following the season and during an interview last week general manager Thad Levine said the future of the Twins’ field boss won’t be addressed until after the ballclub has played its last game this fall.
No doubt some Molitor loyalists—and there are many—feel the manager should have been offered a new contract by now. His team has overcome adversity—including injuries and an extraordinary shuffling of the pitching staff—to stay in the race for a postseason playoff race. The Twins are 64-60 after being a 59-102 team a year ago.
The Molitor admirers, particularly those who know baseball well, see a manager with exceptional knowledge of the gam. He is an avid learner and teacher whose command of both the subtleties and fundamentals has helped revive the franchise. His supporters also see a leader who has taken a calm approach with a young roster, despite changing out so many players on a team that has avoided long losing streaks.
And then there is this: Molitor is a high character, likeable guy who Minnesotans enjoy being around him.
Levine, though, didn’t give a hint as to whether Molitor will return as manager in 2018. The Twins don’t negotiate contracts during the season and Levine, along with chief baseball officer Derek Falvey, decided not to make a deal with Molitor last offseason. As the franchise’s new leaders as of last fall, they are committed to a lengthy evaluation of all things related to baseball including the manager, coaches and scouts.
“We’ve talked to Paul and we’ve all collectively determined that we would…let the season play out without any distractions,” Levine said. “Then we would address that (contract situation) as well as a number of our other staff members whose contracts will be up at the end of the season—just so that we could keep our focus where it should be, which is between the lines at this point.”
The emotions of Molitor loyalists are one thing. Business, though, is another and objectively it makes sense for the Twins to take a wait-and-see approach—even with just 38 games remaining of the season and the results from the manager and coaching staff’s work making a compelling argument for a Molitor extension.
When asked how he and Falvey evaluate a manager, Levine emphasized the development of a “partnership” and effective communication between the front office and the field boss. Much of that needed collaboration involves decisions on player personnel.
“That doesn’t mean everyone agrees at all times,” Levine said. “Quite frankly, I think it’s probably healthier when they don’t—when we’re set up to sharpen each other’s ideas rather than just agree with all of them.”
There’s no indication Molitor, who turns 61 today, doesn’t want to return as manager. He and his coaches and players have shown a resiliency that has impressed Levine. The season’s longest losing streak is four games, compared with a late slide last year that saw Minnesota drop 13 straight.
A few weeks ago the front office seemed to be taking a build-for-the-future approach by trading starting pitcher Jamie Garcia and Brandon Kintzler—one of baseball’s best closers—for prospects. “Here we go,” thought Twins fans. “The team will collapse and fall out of contention for the playoffs.”
Instead the Twins have remained competitive and have won 12 of their last 16 games. The collective resiliency has impressed Levine who mentioned the leadership of veterans Joe Mauer, Ervin Santana and Brian Dozier, and how a young core of players has contributed to team determination.
“I think it’s been one of the biggest bright spots of this team,” Levine said. “As you try to put together a championship caliber team, one thing that every single championship team has ever had in the history of the game is resiliency. There are teams that get knocked down but get back up, and there are teams that bend but they don’t break, and I think we’ve seen that out of our club.
“There are countless times this season where a three-game losing streak could have turned into a six or seven-game losing streak. Or they could have kind of thrown in the towel and succumbed to what the national pundits were saying in terms of their likely win expectancy for the year. Each time they’ve tried to defy that, and they’ve rallied around each other and shown tremendous resolve.
“I think those are championship caliber qualities and you can’t teach that. It has to be innate within your team. I think the fact that we’re seeing that out of this club—especially on the heels of a 103 loss season—is a mark of exceptional growth.”
The Twins and other major league teams can expand rosters on September 1 from 25 to 40 players. “I would expect we’re going to bring up a half dozen guys or so,” Levine said.
Who the Twins decide to promote to the big league club is impacted by roster needs, minor league performances and wanting to give top prospects early exposure to baseball’s highest level of competition. Part of the Twins perspective will also be influenced by the versatility of players on the existing roster.
“We have so many guys who can play so many different positions that we can probably be a little more selective as to who we want to promote,” Levine said. “Those are conversations that Derek, and myself, and Paul have had ongoing, and will continue to have.”