Flashback: Winfield, Molitor join 3,000-hit club three years apart
Apparently, Sept. 16 is a great day to join the 3,000-hit club.
Hall of Famer Dave Winfield did so in 1993, and fellow Hall of Famer Paul Molitor did it in 1996 — both as Minnesota Twins. Further linking the two legends is that they both are natives of St. Paul, Minn.
Winfield made history against Oakland A's closer Dennis Eckersley in the ninth inning, driving in the Twins' first run of the game in what ultimately would be a walk-off win in 13 innings.
Molitor tripled to right-center in the fifth inning of Minnesota's eventual 6-5 loss to the Kansas City Royals. In doing so, he became the only player to triple for his 3,000th career hit.
Winfield, who retired after the 1995 season, ranks 20th on the all-time hits list with 3,110 — not bad for a guy who never played a game in the minors. Molitor, who called it a career after the 1998 season, still ranks 10th on that list with 3,319 hits.
Both men were first-ballot Hall of Famers — Winfield in 2001, and Molitor in 2004. Molitor, of course, is now the Twins' manager.
