Paul Molitor’s sweet swing lasted 21 major league seasons and helped him collect 3,319 hits — the eighth most in major league history. He was a reliable teammate, one of the best baserunners of his time and a steady fielder before injuries made him a DH.

Now, “The Ignitor,” who spent 15 years with the Milwaukee Brewers, won a championship with the Toronto Blue Jays and finished his career with his hometown Minnesota Twins is headed to the Hall of Fame.

“It’s pretty overwhelming,” Molitor said Tuesday when was elected in his first year of eligibility, chosen by 85.2 percent of the voters in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Molitor’s career, extended by his role as a designated hitter, kept rolling with age.

“At 42, he hit .281. Even then, he was still a productive player,” Twins general manager Terry Ryan said.

“He had great instincts, that’s what makes those type players really good,” said George Bamberger, Molitor’s first manager with the Brewers in 1978.

“I thought he would be a heck of a player. But to do what he did is tough to predict. As a youngster, he handled every situation like a veteran. As he got older, he did what he had to do.”

Molitor and fellow Hall of Famer Robin Yount were longtime teammates, leading the Brewers to their only World Series appearance as “Harvey’s Wallbangers” in 1982 when Molitor set a record with five hits in the opener of a seven-game series won by the Cardinals. Now they are the Brewers’ only two Hall of Famers.

“Anybody who saw him on a daily basis like I did knows he’s a Hall of Famer,” Yount said Tuesday.

“I will put him up there with George Brett on consistency because I never saw anyone other than he and George experience day-in and day-out success.”

In 1987, Molitor went on one of the great hitting tears in baseball history. His 39-game hitting streak ended against Cleveland when Milwaukee reserve Rick Manning won the game for the Brewers with an extra-inning, pinch-hit single while Molitor stood in the on-deck circle waiting for one more chance to bat.

As fans at Milwaukee County Stadium booed Manning, Molitor trotted out to first to congratulate his teammate.

Molitor departed for Toronto as a free agent after the 1992 season — the Brewers haven’t reached .500 since — and in 1993 was named MVP of the World Series as the Blue Jays beat the Phillies.

After signing with the Twins, the former University of Minnesota star reached the 3,000 hit mark in 1996, again joining his longtime sidekick Yount in one of baseball’s most exclusive and prestigious clubs.

Molitor said he was able to succeed by exploring all the nuances of the game.

“People would mention to see me over the course of time, they would realize the impact I could have,” he said.

“It’s more than homers and RBIs ... I tried to be as complete as I could with situational hitting and baserunning. I was looking for little edges.”

After retiring in 1998, Molitor served as bench coach for Twins in 2000 and 2001 and then as a roving instructor. He recently signed to be the Mariners’ hitting coach.

In Seattle, he will work with another of baseball’s top designated hitters in Edgar Martinez.

Because of numerous injuries, Molitor spent the latter stages of his career as a DH where he played in 1,174 games, a position still frowned upon by baseball purists.

But Molitor was not your typical DH. As a leadoff hitter, he combined power and speed throughout his career just as he did while playing third base, second, short, first and the outfield. He finished with 234 career homers, 605 doubles and 504 stolen bases to go with his .306 batting average.

“I was lucky enough to play in that role and it certainly extended my career and allowed me to accomplish some things offensively that otherwise I might not have,” Molitor said.

“I don’t want to be labeled strictly as a DH. I felt I was more than that over 21 years.”