By the page: Paul Molitor

I mentioned in the last post that the Jays have only had 5 players with 200+ hits in a season.  The 1993 season had 2 of those 5 occurrences.   John Olerud had exactly 200 hits, and a .363 average while placing 3rd in MVP voting.   While Olerud dominated the headlines in Toronto for most of that summer while flirting with .400, Paul Molitor was quietly putting up one of his best all around offensive seasons, ever.

.332 average (4th highest of his career).  211 hits (3rd highest of his career and 2nd highest Blue Jay total in history).  22 HRs and 111 RBI (highest HR total and 2nd highest RBI total of his career).  77 walks (highest total), .410 OBP (2nd highest total), and 2nd in MVP balloting (Frank Thomas unanimous winner that season).

Any wonder why even though Molitor spent just 3 seasons in Toronto I wanted to have a page of him (I'm 5 cards short of a 2nd page...something I'll be shooting for).

Top row:  Ring of Honor, Finest and Flair

No real rhyme or reason here, I just thought that these cards fit well together.

Middle row:  Die cut and silver parallels

Bat in hand, ready to do some damage.   That is how I will always remember Paul Molitor as a player.  Batting .500 in the '93 World Series and winning MVP only helps to enhance that image.

Bottom row:   Odds and ends

If you look closely at the card in the center, Molitor is listed as signing with the Twins on 12/5/95.  Still in his Jays uniform, I had no problem putting this card on the page.  Over his 3 seasons in Toronto, Molitor played 1st base in only 28 of those games, and none of them were in 1995.  The Collectors Choice card from '95 showing him playing the field was a must add...

I would say that this page is very representative of his time as a Blue Jay.  3 seasons of him as a Blue Jay in the mid 90's should be enough to net me a 2nd page of this Hall of Famer in the future.

148 cards out of the box.   Progress is being made...

thanks for reading, Robert