New Twins manager vows to build fan trust, winning team
Paul Molitor insisted he can pull the Minnesota Twins out of the team's four-season slump. But the new Twins manager also acknowledged the challenges he'll face.
The team hasn't had a winning season since 2010. Attendance at Target Field has fallen 30 percent since then.
"We've had four years of struggle. We've had fans that have tried to find a way to stay optimistic, not become apathetic or angry. And we need to reach out to them," Molitor told reporters Tuesday in his first news conference as the 13th manager in Twins history.
"The Twins brand has had a lot of respect out there for a long, long time. And we've kind of got off that a little bit," he added. "It's time to help try to rebuild that."
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Although new to managing, Molitor is obviously no stranger to Minnesota baseball fans. The St. Paul native played high school ball at Cretin High School before attending the University of Minnesota.
He retired from baseball in 1998 as a Twins player after three seasons with the team. He's a World Series MVP and a Hall of Famer with 14 years of coaching experience, mostly in the minor leagues.
Molitor said his two decades as a player set him up well for his new role.
"I was thinking last night, I've probably watched or played or coached 4,000 or so professional games, which comes out to about 12,000 hours, which comes out to about 500 days of my life 24/7 watching professional baseball," he said.
Twins star Joe Mauer is also from St. Paul and played at Cretin-Derham Hall. He called Molitor "one of the smartest baseball men" he's ever met.
"I remember sitting at the top of the dugout just next to him. And he watched the pitcher throw seven, eight warm-up tosses," Mauer recalled. "By the second pitch of the game, he knew every pitch the guy was throwing."
Twins General Manager Terry Ryan acknowledged the Twins are turning over the reins to a rookie manager following the firing of longtime manager Ron Gardenhire, but added he wasn't worried.
"He's admitted that he has some things that he needs to learn. Doesn't everybody?" Ryan said of Molitor. "Handling a pitching staff — he's never done that. Being the manager of 25 men — he's not done that. There are a couple of other things that are going to come across his desk that he's never experienced."
Ryan said he believes Molitor will be able to learn those skills on the job.