Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 24, 1993 TAG: 9310240187
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: TORONTO LENGTH: Medium
Molitor, who batted .500 - 12 hits in 24 at-bats - with hits in every game of the Series, tripled to right-center in the first inning to drive in the first run of the Blue Jays' 8-6 clinching victory in Game 6 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Then with the crowd chanting, "M-V-P, M-V-P, M-V-P," Molitor lofted a hanging curveball by Terry Mulholland 393 feet into the second deck in left field to give Toronto a 5-1 lead.
That shot gave Molitor two homers, two triples, two doubles and five singles - better than a two-cycle World Series - and enabled him to tie the record for extra base hits in a six-game series set by Reggie Jackson in 1977, the year he hit three homers in one game.
Molitor's homer also gave him the record for runs scored in the postseason with 16 - seven in the American League Championship Series and nine in the World Series. He made it 17 when he singled to keep alive a ninth-inning rally and scored on Joe Carter's dramatic series-ending homer.
The "M-V-P" chanting grew louder as Molitor rounded the bases on his homer, and signs in the stands showed the popularity he has gained in his first year in Toronto after 15 years in Milwaukee. "On Oct. 25, Vote for Paul Molitor," read one sign, two days before Canadians go to the polls to vote for their prime minister.
"I'm primarily a DH so I hope I don't drop this thing. It's pretty heavy," Molitor joked when handed the huge MVP trophy. "When I saw that ball go out of the park it was really a dream come true."
Molitor, 37, whose contract called for a $50,000 bonus if he won this award, also became the oldest World Series MVP since Willie Stargell won it at 39 in 1979.
Signed last winter to replace Dave Winfield, a free agent who went to Minnesota after driving in the winning run in last year's World Series, Molitor was nothing short of brilliant from spring to fall.
"When I chose to come to Toronto it was a difficult decision," Molitor said. "But when I started to think about it, I thought maybe the Blue Jays would be the first to win back-to-back World Series in a while."
Molitor batted .322 during the regular season, drove in a career-high 111 runs and scored 121. He set an ALCS record with six consecutive hits in the first two games.
So potent was Molitor at the plate that manager Cito Gaston played him at first base and then at third base twice in the three games in Philadelphia, even though Molitor acknowledged feeling shaky at both positions. He hadn't started in the field since Sept. 3, but because of the absence of the DH spot in Philadelphia he took over for regular first baseman John Olerud, the AL batting champion with a .363 average.
Olerud didn't like sitting. But the left-handed hitter gracefully accepted yielding to Molitor, a right-handed hitter going against a left-handed pitcher. Olerud talked with Molitor about playing first, but when asked if he had ever given Molitor hitting tips during the year, Olerud looked astonished.
"Me give him tips?" Olerud responded. "I go to him for tips."
Keywords:
BASEBALL
by CNB