As the longest-tenured member of the Minnesota Twins, first baseman Joe Mauer has seen teammates come and go. He's endured ups and downs over the last 12 seasons, both individually and as a team. For many years, the sideburned St. Paul native has been the face of Twins baseball.
But until this winter, Mauer had only known one big-league manager. That, of course, was Ron Gardenhire, who was let go following the 2014 season, Minnesota's fourth straight year of 90-plus losses. In stepped Paul Molitor, a familiar face around Twins Territory, and a graduate of the same high school as Mauer (Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul).
Mauer had known Molitor for many years, including last season when Molitor served as a coach on Gardenhire's staff. Still, it was a bit of an adjustment process for Mauer and the rest of the Twins to let it sink in that they had a new skipper.
"It was different," Mauer said. "Obviously Gardy, you know Gardy. I don't have to say a lot about him. You miss him. He was a great manager and a did a lot of great things for us. But it's a different feeling and it is a good feeling."
When Molitor was named the new manager Nov. 4, Twins players instantly had positive things to say about the Hall of Famer. Second baseman Brian Dozier credited Molitor for helping him steal 20 bases in 2014. Trevor Plouffe gave Molitor credit for helping him with various aspects of his game.
There was no doubt Molitor had the respect of his players from the get-go. But how would the first-time manager handle things on a daily basis during the grind of a 162-game season? He had never filled out a lineup card or made an in-game pitching change. His first chance to do so came in the Twins' exhibition against Molitor's alma mater, the University of Minnesota, in early March.
Molitor has since had another month of spring training -- and his official managerial debut Monday -- to learn the ropes of managing a game. Despite his lack of experience, his players have confidence that Molitor can help turn things around for the better after four disappointing seasons.
"When I came into camp I was kind of curious to see how things were going to go, especially with Molitor as manager," said Twins reliever Brian Duensing. "We've got a new pitching coach. We've got some guys that maybe have different philosophies or different ways about going about business. I was curious to see how they were going to do things. For the most part it's been about the same. We've just kind of changed some small things here and there, but other than that, it's been fairly simple to adapt."
When asked about the skillset Molitor possesses as a manager and a leader, several Twins players praised his attention to detail. That mindset and work ethic as a player helped him join the 3,000-hit club and earn a ticket to Cooperstown.
It remains to be seen how that attention to detail will translate as a manager, but the Twins' early impressions of Molitor the manager have been positive.
"He's a Hall of Fame guy with a Hall of Fame mind," said Twins bench coach Joe Vavra, one of two holdovers from Gardenhire's staff. "He understands people, personalities. He understands issues that come up. That's a pretty good combination. Really, I kind of like the way he's been going about the stuff with the temperament of talking to players. He's not a vocal guy. He's not going to be yelling and screaming. It doesn't appear that way. I don't think he's going to change his character. But he's real competitive."
From a personality standpoint, Molitor is certainly a contrast to his predecessor. Gardenhire was quick to crack a joke and was almost always jovial with the media. Molitor is even-keeled, a bit quieter, but always insightful. Twins players say, though, that Molitor seemed like a natural in spring training when it came to holding team meetings or giving speeches.
Now 58, Molitor is 17 years removed from his playing days. He spent plenty of time in the Twins' organization at the minor-league level before getting a shot in the majors. Now that he has it, he has a chance to leave his own mark on a franchise that is trying to put four bad seasons behind it.
"Everybody knew Paul and the type of guy he is. He's obviously a good baseball guy and knows the game," said Twins pitcher Phil Hughes. "He likes to work on little things and holding base runners and stuff like that has kind of been the emphasis so far. He seems like he's been going at this a while. . . . He has a good sense of leadership and knowing what the guys need. He gets it."
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