[freakhappy]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

As somebody that grew up a Brewers fan, one having seen Paul Molitor play in person many times, I have to respectfully disagree. Molitor was one of the best players of his generation.

Between 1978 and 1987, his prime years, Paul missed nearly 500 games due to injuries. Think about where his career numbers would have ended up had he not missed them. Hell, he got 2,116 hits after age 30, hitting .316, scoring 1,106 runs.

He's a member of MLB's All-Time team for a reason. He's one of four players in the history of baseball with a .300 average, 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases, and the only player from the modern era to do it (the others, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and Eddie Collins were all retired by 1930). Molitor played 21 seasons, and averaged 200 hits per 162 games played. That's better than Pete Rose and Ted Williams, and equal to Rod Carew and Roberto Clemente.

Wow! I always loved Molitor and knowing that he made the 3k hit club makes him very special in my book, but I never knew some of the stats that you posted...I have a whole new respect for him now. I had no idea he stole 500 bags during his career, I just thought he was a very solid hitter. Thanks for posting this info!