You love baseball. Tim Kurkjian loves baseball. So while we await its return, every day we'll provide you with a story or two tied to this date in baseball history.
ON THIS DATE IN 1999, the Milwaukee Brewers retired Paul Molitor's uniform No. 4.
In Milwaukee, they called Molitor "The Ignitor.'' He got on base to lead off the first inning, Robin Yount moved him around and, before you knew it, the Brewers had a 1-0 lead.
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Molitor finished with 3,319 hits, ninth most ever. He had more hits than Willie Mays. In 1993, for the champion Blue Jays, Molitor led the American League with 211 hits. In 1996 for the Twins, at age 39, he batted .341 and led the AL in hits (225) for the third time. He was at his best in the biggest games. He hit .368 in the postseason; in two World Series, he batted .418. He went 12-for-24 with two home runs and eight RBIs to win the MVP of the 1993 Series. He is the first player (Game 1, 1982) to get five hits in a World Series game.
Molitor's swing was so short, simple, compact. In the spring of 1995, after the strike had finally ended, my job was to follow Molitor, a players' union leader, to see how he got ready for the season having spent months in a negotiating room. I watched him take batting practice against a pitching machine; it was breathtaking to see those legendarily fast hands go from shoulder to contact.
When he finished, he stormed out of the batting cage.
"That was awful!'' he said.
Late in Molitor's career, he attended a luncheon that included some of the best hitters of all time.
"Ted Williams was in the corner talking to Joe DiMaggio, and as soon as I walked in, Ted blows off Joe DiMaggio to come talk to me,'' said Molitor, who has always been very articulate. "I couldn't believe it. He started asking me questions, like, 'What are you looking for on 2-0?' I was so intimidated. I didn't know what to say. I mean, Ted Williams was talking to me. I'm sure I sounded like a complete idiot.''
Molitor was also one of the best baserunners of all time, so fast, so smart, so instinctive. He showed the Blue Jays how to lead off second base, decipher the catcher's signs and relay them to the hitter, a skill he learned from Larry Hisle and Ted Simmons in Milwaukee. But even they couldn't do what Molitor could do. He could lead off first base, and if the catcher was lazy with his signs, he could peek and steal the signs.
So in 2017, when the Twins, with Molitor as their manager, played at Miller Park in Milwaukee, one of the young Twins players looked at the No. 4 jersey hanging from the rafters.
"Is that you?'' he asked.
"Yes,'' Molitor said softly. "That's me.''
Other baseball notes for June 11
In 1985, Von Hayes became the first player hit two home runs in the first inning. He hit a leadoff homer and a grand slam.
In 1938, Johnny Vander Meer tossed the first of his two no-hitters, which he threw in consecutive starts.
In 1990, Nolan Ryan threw his sixth no-hitter. He became the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in three different decades.
In 1983, Jose Reyes was born. In a 10-day period in 2008, he was thrown out attempting to steal by all three Molina brothers.
In 1966, Cubs outfielder Adolfo Phillips struck out in a ninth consecutive plate appearance.
In 1967, Cubs outfielder Adolfo Phillips hit four home runs in a doubleheader.