Paul Molitor's Managerial Career Beginning as Brightly as Playing Days

Paul Molitor made his MLB debut in 1978 with the Milwaukee Brewers. In his first three games, all Milwaukee wins, the 21-year-old rookie went 7-for-16 with a home run and seven RBI.

It was a harbinger of things to come—of the 3,000-hit, Hall of Fame playing career that lay ahead, sure, but also of the instant splash Molitor would eventually make as a big league manager.

In his first season at the helm of the Minnesota Twins, Molitor has taken a team that was a near-consensus pick to finish in the American League Central basement and vaulted it into contention. Entering play Monday, the first-place Twins sat at 30-19, a half-game ahead of the Kansas City Royals.

As impressive as that is, it's tempting to dismiss the Twins as a flash in the pan, an early-season mirage destined to evaporate in the heat of summer. Certainly, their success has come with a healthy dose of smoke and mirrors, as Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post spelled out May 29:

Minnesota entered the weekend with no regular hitting above .280 or with an on-base percentage above .348. Their supposed ace, Phil Hughes, has a 4.57 ERA. Their major free-agent acquisition, Erwin Santana, was suspended for 80 games because of a drug violation. Their $49-million bust from a year ago, Ricky Nolasco, has a 5.12 ERA and is allowing 1.611 walks and hits per inning pitched — yet is somehow 5-1. ... No, nothing makes sense about these Twins.

Nothing except the man with the lineup card. Molitor, simply put, exemplifies winning.

When the Twins opened a three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, it offered a convenient excuse to recall the 1993 season, when Molitor banged out an MLB-leading 211 hits for the Jays and wound up hitting .500 in the Fall Classic, winning World Series MVP honors.

Really, though, his enviable skills and high baseball IQ were evident from the get-go. "He had tremendous instincts and you could see right away he was a talented athlete," his old Milwaukee manager, George Bamberger, said, per BaseballHall.org. "Not only physically, but mentally too. He played the game like he had been up here for years."

A good—or even great—playing career doesn't guarantee success as a manager. So far, Molitor seems to have embraced the role.

"I think I have a greater appreciation for people who do this, having been in this seat for a short while," Molitor said, per Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun. "It's fun. It's challenging to find ways to pull out things from people. To try to motivate them."

The ability to motivate and mold players will be especially important when Minnesota calls up its cache of blue-chip prospects, guys like five-tool outfielder Byron Buxton and slugging third baseman Miguel Sano. Looking down the road, Molitor will almost surely have the talent to shape the Twins into winners.

Or he could do it now. Why not? Baseball history is littered with surprise contenders, clubs that bucked expectations and scoffed at the odds. Heck, the Houston Astros are doing it right now in the AL West.

Logic still dictates that these Twins will return to Earth. As of May 31, Baseball Prospectus foretold a 50-64 finish, which would knock Minnesota below .500 overall and out of the playoff race.

Despite the hot start, it's hard to imagine this team staying in the mix in what might be baseball's deepest division.

We'll leave such pessimism for another day, though. For now, the Twins are offering their fans reasons to believe after four consecutive 90-plus-loss campaigns.

Perhaps the biggest reason of all is standing at the top of the dugout steps.

"Molly has so much info wound up in that head, and he just wants to give it away," veteran outfielder Torii Hunter, who returned to Minnesota this season, said of his new skipper, per ESPN.com's Jim Caple. "If you're not seeking it, something's wrong with you."

All statistics current as of May 31 and courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.