Originally up with the Detroit Tigers in 1975 for a brief cup of coffee, Molinaro got a chance to put in some full-time work, albeit barely, in 1978 with Chicago, appearing in 105 games and batting .262 with 22 stolen bases and five triples in only 286 plate appearances.
Apparently it was good enough for Topps, though as we all know, they stopped using their cool Rookie All-Star trophy on cards.
The following season he had an even better year, batting .291 over 119 games and 384 plate appearances, collecting 100 hits and stealing 18 bases along with 48 runs scored and another four triples.
Sadly for him however those two would be the only seasons of his eight-year Big League career where he saw any decent amount of time on the playing field, as he would find himself reduced to filling in and pinch-hitting over the next three seasons.
After getting less than 100 plate appearances each season between 1981 and 1983 playing for Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit, he was done as an active player in the Majors.
All told he finished with a career average of .264 over 401 games, collecting 212 hits in 803 at-bats, with 46 stolen bases and 106 runs scored.
