Robert Joseph Molinaro (born May 21, 1950) is a former professional baseball
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
in the minor and major leagues in a career that lasted 18 years. His baseball career began in 1968, and lasted until 1985. During that time Molinaro played for 13 different teams, in seven different leagues.
Born in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Essex Catholic High School.
Playing career
Minor league baseball
Molinaro's career in professional baseball began on June 7, 1968, when he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the second round of the
1968 MLB draft
The 1968 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft took place prior to the 1968 MLB season. The draft saw the New York Mets take shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, whi ...
. Molinaro signed with the Tigers 10 days later.
Molinaro was then assigned to the rookie class
Gulf Coast League Tigers
The Florida Complex League Tigers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Tigers. The team plays its home gam ...
for the 1968 season. He was promoted to Class A the following season and played in the
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...
for the
Rocky Mount Leafs
''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess M ...
in 1969. After the 1969 season, Molinaro was once again promoted up the ranks of the Tigers' system to Class Double A where he would spend the next two seasons, 1970 and 1971, playing for the
Montgomery Rebels
The Montgomery Rebels was the name of several American minor league baseball franchises representing Montgomery, Alabama, playing in various leagues between and . ''Rebels'' was the predominant nickname of the Montgomery teams, but it was not the ...
of the Southern League.
In 1972 Molinaro finally moved up to Triple A and played the season with the
Toledo Mud Hens
The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...
of the International League. In 1973 he returned to Toledo and also spent time back with the Rebels. After that, he played from 1974 through 1977 for the Tigers' new Triple A club, the
Evansville Triplets
The Evansville Triplets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Triple-A American Association (AA) from 1970 to 1984. They were located in Evansville, Indiana, and played their home games at Bosse Field. The Triplets served as a farm club for t ...
of the
American Association American Association may refer to:
Baseball
* American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891
* American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997
* American Association of Profe ...
.
Major league baseball
Molinaro made his major league debut with the Detroit Tigers on September 18, 1975. The first three hits of his MLB career came in a 5–1 victory over the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
at Tiger Stadium two days later on September 20. His first was a one-out
triple
Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble":
Sports
* Triple (baseball), a three-base hit
* A basketball three-point field goal
* A figure skating jump with three rotations
* In bowling terms, three strikes in a row
* ...
to left field off
Luis Tiant
Luis Clemente Tiant Vega () (born November 23, 1940) is a Cuban former Major League Baseball (MLB) right-handed starting pitcher. He pitched in MLB for 19 years, primarily for the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox.
Tiant compiled a 22 ...
before scoring the Tigers' second run of the game on a
Ben Oglivie
Benjamin Ambrosio Oglivie Palmer (born February 11, 1949) is a Panamanians, Panamanian former professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox (1971–1973), Detroit Tigers (1974–1977), and Mi ...
single in the third. His second was a two-out RBI single that scored Tom Veryzer and ended Tiant's afternoon one inning later in the fourth. He went on to play four more games for the Tigers that season, plus a single game in 1977. On September 22 of that year, Molinaro was selected off waivers by the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
, and he played in four games for the White Sox that season.
Molinaro played a full season with the White Sox in 1978, before heading back to the minor leagues for the 1979 season, which saw him play for the American Association's Iowa Oaks. Molinaro did have another brief stay in the major leagues in 1979 when he played eight games for the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
. Once again, he was back in a White Sox uniform, and playing full-time for them in 1980 and 1981.
After two more years with the White Sox, Molinaro was sent to the Chicago Cubs on March 29, 1982, to complete an earlier deal made on August 15, 1981. The White Sox sent a
player to be named later
In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...
(PTBNL) to the Cubs, also for a player to be named later, who turned out to be Lynn McGlothen. The White Sox eventually sent Molinaro to the Cubs to complete the trade.
After starting the 1982 season with the Cubs and seeing 65 games of action, Molinaro's contract was purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies on September 2. He was supposed to have been acquired by the Phillies two days earlier on August 31 as the PTBNL to complete a December 8, 1981 transaction that also sent
Mike Krukow
Michael Edward Krukow (born January 21, 1952), nicknamed "Kruk", is an American former professional baseball player and sportscaster. As a starting pitcher, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and ...
to Philadelphia for
Keith Moreland
Bobby Keith Moreland (born May 2, 1954), nicknamed "Zonk", is a former outfielder, catcher and infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and San Diego Padres. In 1989, the final year of his career, ...
,
Dickie Noles
Dickie Ray Noles (born November 19, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and the Baltimore Orioles between 1979 and 1990. He bat ...
and
Dan Larson
Daniel James Larson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Larson pitched in all or parts of seven seasons from and .
Larson was drafted in the first round of the 1972 Major League Baseball Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, while at Alham ...
. That part of the deal was canceled on September 1 by the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball which stated that the acquisition of Molinaro could only be made if he "had not been on the active list of any club in the (Phillies') league during any part of a (regular) season between the date of the agreement and the date of the assignment.""For the second time this week the Philadelphia Phillies...," ''United Press International'' (UPI), Friday, September 3, 1982. Retrieved January 19, 2023. He appeared in 19 games with the Phillies that season.
The 1983 season was Molinaro's last in the majors. After returning to the Phillies and playing in 19 games, he was released on June 6 and found himself back in the minor league's this time playing for the Triple A Indianapolis Indians.
A return to the Major Leagues came that September when on the 1st Molinaro was signed as a free agent by the Detroit Tigers. Molinaro only played eight more Major League games with his return to the Tigers. Molinaro's career came to a close after sitting out the 1984 season, although he returned to play one last pro season with the Triple A International League's Rochester Red Wings in 1985.
In between, he pitched winter ball with the
Leones del Caracas
The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...
club of the
Venezuelan League
The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year.
History Early years
Baseball exp ...
between the 1977 and 1979 seasons.
Post-playing career
After his playing career had ended, Molinaro remained active in baseball as a manager with the
Hagerstown Suns
The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home ga ...
of the Class A
South Atlantic League
The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...