What's Paul Molitor Like As A Coach?

[Parker Hageman]

With reports emerging that the Twins will hire Paul Molitor as the next manager, I wanted to look back at an interview we did with former minor leaguer AJ Pettersen on a recent No Juice Podcast in which Pettersen describes his time working with Molitor:

 

 

“[Paul] Molitor is very, very knowledgeable. Probably the smartest baseball person I’ve ever met in my life -- not an exaggeration at all. He’s a little quieter and more relaxed, which does work.

 

The coolest thing about him is that I’ve always felt like he’s trying to learn something new. I would be in New Britain two years ago and something would happen on a steal of second base and he would come out early the next day and Molitor would come up to me and ask me what I think about it and I’m like ‘You’re the Hall of Famer, why you asking me?’ That’s really how he was, he was always trying to learn more. It was extremely impressive to see that.

 

He can really interact with anybody as well. He really helped [Miguel] Sano last year on defense -- moved him back, worked with him a lot on his footwork -- and it paid off quite a bit. He can interact with those Latin guys as well.

 

{snip}

 

The vibe I got was that he just knows about everything. You can ask him about anything in a baseball game: outfielders, pitchers, infielders. Baserunning is really what his main thing is. He really knows baserunning.

 

{snip}

 

He would come out, when he was the rovering baserunning instructor, we would do blocks in the morning so he would rotate through every third day. He ran the baserunning session and he would be at first base talking for forty-five minutes about just first base. This is the situation. He’s talking about leading off, the route you are taking when you are rounding second base, all these things that are specific and he took a very professional approach to it. He’s just really impressive as a baserunning coach.

 

 

Pettersen is just one source but others within the organization at various levels and positions have spoken highly of Molitor's baseball acumen. Jack Goin was impressed by his ability to grasp the analytics side of the game and run with the idea on his own. 

 

None of this means he winds up being a good manager but I am confident that he has all the necessary traits to be a good choice.

 

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[ashbury]

None of this means he winds up being a good manager

That was the question I was framing as I read through the post.  The title of Manager is not simply an honorific for the best coach on the staff.  What coaching qualifications are important in the managerial role, and what are not? 

 

Things like in-game strategy (surely a Molitor strength based on testimonials like the above), discipline and punishments, handling a pitching staff (strangely, good pitching coaches aren't shoo-ins as managers), maintaining a harmonious clubhouse, and so forth come to mind and I'm sure there's more, as abilities not necessarily exposed while coaching.

[DocBauer]

It's comments like those from AJ and others I've heard recently that really swayed me over to Molitor as a great selection. Not that I've ever debated his baseball career or baseball knowledge credentials, but being able to coach and communicate are chief components to being a manager and leader, I believe. Now, you also have to know how to assemble a quality staff around you and be able to delegate properly. And that's the one key component we just don't know yet.

 

To echo ASHBURYJOHN, I don't know that pitching coaches often make good managers, for whatever reason, but it might be the single most important hire that Molitor can make. I think Molitor's knowledge from hitting to base running to defense to situational defense are impeccable. In any sport, top players don't always make good coaches. Why? Nobody has ever been able to answer this accurately other than the fact the game just came so easily to them, and they succeeded at such a high level that they simply don't know how to relate and impart knowledge. It doesn't appear Molitor has this problem. But he can't do it all, or know it all.

[jokin]

 

The vibe I got was that he just knows about everything. You can ask him about anything in a baseball game: outfielders, pitchers, infielders.

 

Baserunning is really what his main thing is. He really knows baserunning.

 

{snip}

 

He would come out, when he was the rovering baserunning instructor, we would do blocks in the morning so he would rotate through every third day. He ran the baserunning session and he would be at first base talking for forty-five minutes about just first base. This is the situation. He’s talking about leading off, the route you are taking when you are rounding second base, all these things that are specific and he took a very professional approach to it. He’s just really impressive as a baserunning coach.

 

Petterson's testimony is affirmed by some of the statistical areas that Molitor is said to have had at least some responsibility and/or influence over, especially productivity on the basepaths.  He sounds Tom Kelly-like when it comes to coaching zeal and approach about baserunning to his charges. And to be fair, Bruno certainly fits into a chunk of the credit for the at-the-plate numbers.  Some pretty dramatic improvements in the following areas...

 

Twins 2014 League Ranking per stat (VS. 2013 ranking stat in parentheses):

 

BB%  2nd  (7th)

OBP%  2nd  (20th)

UBR 2nd  (14th)

BsR 3rd   (21st)

Runs 7th  (25th)

wRAA 8th  (21st)

Spd 8th  (30th- LAST!)

wSB  14th  (29th)

[TheDean]

 

Twins 2014 League Ranking per stat (VS. 2013 ranking stat in parentheses):

 

BB%  2nd  (7th)

OBP%  2nd  (20th)

UBR 2nd  (14th)

BsR 3rd   (21st)

Runs 7th  (25th)

wRAA 8th  (21st)

Spd 8th  (30th- LAST!)

wSB  14th  (29th)

 

Really interesting stats.  I feel like he (and Bruno) certainly must have worked to get the most out of the roster when it came to baserunning and walking.  The roster didn't seem to have an exceptional natural knack for baserunning (outside of Dozier).  I also didn't figure that the team ranked as highly as they did in OBP, just considering their struggles to employ a proper leadoff man, the strikout propensity of some of the players, and not having the >.400 OBP version of Mauer to tip the scales.

[Monkeypaws]

He has the kind of attention to detail I feel has been lacking the last few seasons. With many young players soon to be infusing the line-up, his ability to teach fundamentals will be quite beneficial IMO.

[nicksaviking]

I like his attention to details.  I'll like it even more if he can get the young players to also concern themselves with attention to details.  It's not always easy to get 23-year-olds to focus like that but his track record as an instructor may indicate the youngsters may follow suit.

[jokin]

Really interesting stats.  I feel like he (and Bruno) certainly must have worked to get the most out of the roster when it came to baserunning and walking.  The roster didn't seem to have an exceptional natural knack for baserunning (outside of Dozier).  I also didn't figure that the team ranked as highly as they did in OBP, just considering their struggles to employ a proper leadoff man, the strikout propensity of some of the players, and not having the >.400 OBP version of Mauer to tip the scales.

 

I think you nailed it in regards to the fact that this team definitely doesn't exactly profile as a team full of "burners".  Like many, I intuitively knew that the Twins had improved in their run production- and I had been tracking the much-improved OBP number- but I had to look up the stats to confirm, and then illustrate, how much overall improvement in supporting numbers, especially base-running elements and wRAA, had actually occurred in 2014.  

 

Incidentally, the K%, although still problematic, dropped quite a bit from 2013 as well:

 

Twins K% 2014-  21.3%  (8th worst)

Twins K% 2013-  23.0%  (2nd worst) 

 

Given the dramatic improvements in both BB% and K%, it appears that Molitor must deserve some of the credit for impressive gains, to name one for certain,  Brian Dozier swears by Molly- his success in all of these areas is the proof in the pudding.

[Rosterman]

And then you have coaches. You need a solid pitching coach to talk that OTHER realm to a coach whose main experience is as  hitter.

 

The manager should/is the ultimate "go to" guy for players. You can delegate someone as the guy to tell a player he is going to the minors, or to put out on-field fires. But ultimately, he has to be approachable to the players (but not the guy you go out drinking and bowling with, as you can some coaches).

 

And nowadays you need someone to talk to the media, do a radio show, have skills at gatherings to sell tickets and such. A bit of charm, or lots of character helps.

 

Be interesting to see the coaching staff, especially the two righthand men -- pitching coahc and bench coach (who has become more powerful than the batting coach, it seems).

[TheLeviathan]

He has the kind of attention to detail I feel has been lacking the last few seasons. With many young players soon to be infusing the line-up, his ability to teach fundamentals will be quite beneficial IMO.

 

That used to be Gardy's MO too and I think it was obvious that attention had waned of late.

[Monkeypaws]

Paul Molitor is in the Hall of Fame. He won a World Series and was MVP of that.

 

He is part of an uber elite club of .300 lifetime hitters with 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases, with some flunkies names Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and Eddie Collins.

 

Any youngster that flies in the face of that deserves to grab some bench!

 

The reviews from players he's coached convinced me he will do good things here.

 

An even keel and brains, this could get interesting.

[Physics Guy]

I think Molitor was a quality hire.  While Lovullo may have some qualities that Ryan was looking for, he was an unknown quantity.  Ryan knows first-hand what to expect out of Molitor.  He has seen him work with young players in the minors as well as work at the major league level the past year.  Molitor is much more of a known quantity, even if he doesn't have managing experience.  The success of coaches such as Matheny and Ausmus, who went straight to managing without prior experience, certainly doesn't hurt.  I hope that Molitor brings an attention to detail to all areas of the club that he does towards baserunning. 

[twinsfan34]

That was the question I was framing as I read through the post.  The title of Manager is not simply an honorific for the best coach on the staff.  What coaching qualifications are important in the managerial role, and what are not? 

 

Things like in-game strategy (surely a Molitor strength based on testimonials like the above), discipline and punishments, handling a pitching staff (strangely, good pitching coaches aren't shoo-ins as managers), maintaining a harmonious clubhouse, and so forth come to mind and I'm sure there's more, as abilities not necessarily exposed while coaching.

 

Yep...and having good players. Even good ol' Joe Maddon finished dead last without talent (2006 and 2007) as well as any other manager. Front Office and the ML have to give Molitor talent.