FORT MYERS, Fla. — In the garage of Brooks Lee’s family home in California is a plaque to a former player who represents everything the 2022 Twins first-rounder wants to be. Not only was the player an elite hitter, but his meticulous technique on the base paths helped him become one of seven players in baseball history to finish with 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases.
When Lee found out earlier this week that Hall of Famer Paul Molitor would serve as the base running instructor for the Twins’ spring training, he was excited. Just seven months into his pro career, Lee, the son of a college coach who idolized Molitor, is working with him personally for the second time.
At the request of Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, Molitor returned to Twins big league camp this week to help the club improve its grassroots operations. This is Molitor’s first time working with Twins Big Leagues at Fort Myers since he was fired as the team’s manager after the 2018 season. Though Molitor was a bit hesitant at first, Lee said the local legend wasn’t shy about voicing his opinion.
“It’s like an encyclopedia of baseball,” Lee said. “Almost every time he has something to say.”
When it comes to running the bases, Molitor should be opinionated. His aggressive nature consistently made him one of the best baserunners in the majors throughout his 21-year career.
He was successful on 504 of 635 Stolen base attempts, his 79.3 percent win rate roughly 11 percent better than the rest of the league.
But the bigger focus in the Gemini’s camp is based on Molitor’s ability to go an extra 90 feet.
Even after knee surgery in 1981 and a series of hamstring injuries, Molitor had an extra base take percentage of 48 compared to the league rate of 44, including a whopping 67 percent in 1984. Only six times in his career has Molitor done so The XBT rate falls below 44, and five of those cases occurred after he turned 32.
“There’s probably no one better able to talk about base running,” Baldelli said.
Despite being familiar with many players and most coaches, Molitor wasn’t entirely comfortable with the situation until he spoke to Baldelli.
As part of the team’s internal look after last season’s collapse, the Twins knew they needed improvements at the grassroots level. The team made 52 outs on bases in 2022, four above the league average and ranked sixth-worst in the majors.
Knowing that baseball also implemented rules designed to increase activity on bases, Baldelli identified the team’s fixation on running from station to station as a key focus early in the offseason. To help, Baldelli wanted to install Molitor.
The two discussed the topic after the season and met again at last month’s TwinsFest to set things up.
“(Baldelli) even mentioned at the time that the game was changing and we wanted to run the bases better and more aggressively,” said Molitor. “We had a nice long talk. … I was a bit hesitant because you’re out there and you respect the coaches.”
But Molitor felt more comfortable with the situation once he realized how committed Baldelli wanted to be. This would not be a subject to be mentioned first and then glossed over. The twins incorporated base running drills every day during their first week at camp.
“He’s trying to make a fundamental point here early in camp that he wants to see more aggressive base running and the little things, running a little bit harder out of the box and looking for extra bases and other ways guys can do that and prepare are,” said Molitor. “He’s asked my opinion on a couple of things and I share it and we go back and forth on how we want to teach it. That’s what we’ve been doing here for the past few days.
“We’re not going to be there and do it all day, but we’re going to do something every day and stick with it. To make it a focus, you need to back it up with the work you’re going to ask them to do.”
Although Baldelli and bench coach Jayce Tingler lead the drills, Molitor is very hands-on. He plays an active role in each session and disseminates information as needed.
The idea is to make it clear that the Twins can’t always rely on long ball to generate attacks and need to find alternative ways to score. Molitor appreciates how the team is trying to adapt and wanted to help.
“Not every year will be 2019,” said Molitor. “You used to talk about base running in terms of risk and reward. It just became a risk there for a while. … But with the changes and the staff, you kind of decide to create an identity. We’ve seen Cleveland’s identity and how it’s changed over the past year. They used that aspect of the game to deepen their team together and it was impressive.”
Most players in the camp are already familiar with Molitor’s impressive work; They either played under him or took lessons in the minors. But Tingler still provided the résumé when introducing Molitor before the team held its first full-roster practice session on Monday.
Since then, the Twins have focused on everything from taking an extra base on a hit, to secondary leads, to working on how to execute a safety squeeze. All of this is designed to create a strong foundation to rely on throughout the season.
“I feel like we did a really good job paying attention to the details,” said outfielder Michael A. Taylor. “We are fortunate to have so many people with great experience around us to lean on and learn from.”
Lee, of course, didn’t need a refresher on Molitor. He also worked with Molitor at a minor-league mini-camp in November.
Having recently left the college game, which is generally much more aggressive on bases, Lee understands how important an aspect can be. In between, and after studying the Hall of Famers, Lee listens intently whenever Molitor or the others speak.
“It’s super important,” Lee said. “When you’re on top of it and not lazy, that’s what makes a championship-caliber team. Everyone plays like a collegiate team during the playoffs, but not everyone does in the regular season.
“(Molitor) has his little things. He lets the captains talk and then when he has something to say, he definitely says something.”
(Top Photo by Paul Molitor: Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins)