Twins sign Paul Molitor to 3 year contract to be Manager for 2018-2020

(by Cory Engelhardt MSU Contributor)

            If you had asked me who should be the manager of the Minnesota Twins for the 2018 season back in March 2017, I would have bet on anyone other than Paul Molitor. 2017 was his 3rd and final year of his first contract he signed in November 2014, and along with having new bosses in place prior to the 2017 season, my thought had been all along that the Derek Falvey regime would find a manager for 2018 ongoing that he would be able to hand pick rather than keeping the incumbent.

            2017 was a different type of year than either 2015 or 2016 for the Twins. If you take out the month of May 2015 where the Twins went 20-7, the rest of 2015 and 2016 the Twins were a combined 122-178. That is a combined .406 winning percentage, which is sub-optimal. The 2017 Twins had 4 of their 6 full months of the year (they won their only regular season game in October) over .500, and even finished the year strong after August 1st by going a combined 35-24 to be able to get into the playoffs for the first time since the 2010 season.

            Between 2015 and 2016 (including the great May of 2015) the Twins scored a total of 1,418 runs and gave up a total of 1,589 runs. The run differential of 2015 (-4 for the entire year) took a nose dive in 2016 (-167.) Run differential (how many runs you score compared to how many runs you give up) is a good barometer for how you do against your competition. 2015 showed the team played about .500 ball, (83-79) as they were only outscored by 4 runs. In 2016, being outscored on the season by 167 runs shows that the Twins were playing poorly, and that held true as they lost 103 games. In 2017 the Twins finished the year with an 85-77 record, and they scored 37 more runs than they gave up to their opponents all year long (815 runs scored, 788 runs allowed.)

            I have a hard time giving too much credit to Paul Molitor for the wins and losses in a team’s record overall. Game by game it is easy to 2nd guess specific decisions on how he chose to bring in guys from the bullpen or when he called for a bunt. Specifically, on relief pitcher usage; it isn’t Molitor’s job to put the team together, that job is Thad Levine’s (Twins general manager.) In the playoff game against the Yankees, Paul Molitor would have looked a lot “smarter” had he had Chad Green and David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle and Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances (all arguably all stars) compared to a few young guys with potential and otherwise no one of note. That said, the players absolutely love playing for him, and the team has shown improvement in terms of being competitive longer into the season than at any point since 2010 and it is hard to fault the decision of the Twins brass of signing him to another 3-year deal.

            If through 2020 Paul Molitor averages at least 80 wins per year, he will at that point be 4th all-time in Twins history in manager victories, not including the Washington Senators. If the Twin go on some crazy run for the next 3 years and average 99 wins per season, he would tie Sam Mele for 3rd all-time at 524. He also will have the chance through 2020 to be the 4th longest tenured manager in Twins history at 6 seasons.

            These next 3 years will be critical for the Twins in terms of the outlook they have with their current offense and position players in place. I hope that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have found the right manager for the job ahead. The current team certainly believes in Paul Molitor.