Yadier Molina
| Yadier Molina | |
|---|---|
 Molina with the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| St. Louis Cardinals – No. 4 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: July 13, 1982 Bayamon, Puerto Rico | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| debut | |
| June 1, 2004, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Career statistics (through 2011 Season) | |
| Batting average | .274 |
| Hits | 863 |
| Doubles | 154 |
| Home runs | 55 |
| Runs batted in | 390 |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Yadier Benjamin Molina (Spanish pronunciation: [ʝaˈdjer moˈlina]; born July 13, 1982) known affectionately by fans as "Yadi", is a Major League Baseball catcher who plays for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Molina was the third catcher to play in two World Series before age 25, along with Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra. He is considered one of the best defensive catchers in baseball, throwing out 42% of runners attempting a stolen base (2005–2010). He has also led major league catchers in pickoffs (2005–2010) with 36.[1]
Early life and family
Molina was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, to Gladys Matta and Benjamín Molina.[2] Molina's two older brothers, Bengie and José, are also major league catchers. José, Bengie and Yadier are the only trio of brothers to have each earned World Series rings. Molina lives in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico,[3] and stays in Caseyville, Illinois, during the baseball season. On October 20, 2008, he had a son named Yanuell, and on July 4, 2010, he had a daughter named Arianna with his wife Wanda.
Professional career
Molina made his debut with the Cardinals during their pennant-winning season of 2004, backing up former Gold Glove-winner Mike Matheny. Molina was picked over Matheny to start Game 4 of the 2004 World Series against the Boston Red Sox; during the following offseason, Matheny signed a three-year, $10.5-million contract with the San Francisco Giants, clearing the road for Molina to become a starter for St. Louis.
In 2005, Molina's defense did not disappoint, and despite an awful offensive start, Molina proved to be a consistent contact hitter. In 114 games, he posted a .252 batting average with eight home runs and 49 RBIs.
Molina played for the Puerto Rican team in the first World Baseball Classic. He went 3–5 with an RBI in four games.
Before the 2006 season, Molina changed his number from 41 to 4. In 2006, in Game 7 of the NLCS, Molina hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning off Aaron Heilman of the New York Mets, giving the Cardinals a 3–1 lead and helping them secure a trip to the 2006 World Series, where they defeated the Detroit Tigers in five games.
In 2007, Molina had his first two-homer game, against the Milwaukee Brewers on August 16, and ended the season with a .275 batting average, six home runs, and 40 RBIs.
Manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan estimate that Molina is responsible for calling over 75% of all pitches thrown during a game.[citation needed] On January 14, 2008, Molina and the Cardinals agreed to a four-year, $15.5 million deal with a club option for a fifth, cementing his position as their starting catcher. After the 2008 season, Molina received his first of four Gold Glove Awards.
On July 5, 2009, Molina was selected to represent St. Louis in the 2009 Major League Baseball All Star Game as the NL starting catcher.[4] He also won his second Gold Glove award later that year.
On April 5, 2010, Molina hit a grand slam home run; he is only the third Cardinals player to hit a grand slam on Opening Day.[5]
On April 17, 2010, Molina caught all 20 innings of a game between the Cardinals and Mets.
He was shut down for the season after an examination on his sore right knee on September 23.[6][7]
On November 1, 2010, he won his fourth consecutive Fielding Bible Award as the sole catcher, becoming the first player at any position to win the award unanimously with a perfect score of 100.[8]
On November 10, 2010, he won his third consecutive Gold Glove Award.[9]
On August 2, 2011, he was ejected during a game against the Brewers for arguing a called strike, after which he appeared to spit at the umpire. Molina said his face was sweaty and he didn't intentionally spit.[10] Molina served a five-game suspension from MLB for "making contact with umpire Rob Drake multiple times and spraying him with spittle twice while arguing."[11][12]
On November 1, 2011, he won his fourth consecutive Gold Glove Award.[13]
Awards
- Fielding Bible Award at catcher, 2007
- Fielding Bible Award at catcher, 2008 [14]
- Fielding Bible Award at catcher, 2009
- Fielding Bible Award at catcher, 2010[8]
- Gold Glove Awards at catcher, 2008–2011[9][15][16]
- Platinum Glove Award at catcher, 2011
References
- ^ Bernie Bytes: Molina needs help St. Louis Post-Dispatch (September 24, 2010)
- ^ Carlos González (June 17, 2008). "Tras el susto, todo luce bien para Yadier" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. Retrieved June 17, 2008. [dead link]
- ^ "The Official Site of The St. Louis Cardinals: Team: Player Information : Biography and Career Highlights". Stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
- ^ "Trio of Cards heading to All-Star Game: Molina, Franklin first-timers; Pujols the top overall vote-getter". July 5, 2009. Retrieved July 6, 2009.
- ^ jrocke217 (April 5, 2010). "Cardinals Best News Links: Yadier Molina Joins Two Other Cardinals With Opening Day Grand Slam". Cardinalsbestnews.blogspot.com. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Molina to sit out rest of season St. Louis Post-Dispatch (September 24, 2010)
- ^ Cards' Molina likely out for rest of season MLB.com (September 23, 2010)
- ^ a b "Cards' Molina headlines Fielding Bible winners: Catcher a unanimous pick; Ichiro wins for third straight year". MLB.com. November 1, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
- ^ a b Molina, Pujols honored with Gold Glove Awards: Cards catcher wins third straight; first baseman earns second Cardinals.com (November 10, 2010)
- ^ "St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers – Recap – August 2, 2011 – ESPN". Scores.espn.go.com. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ "Cardinals' Molina suspended for five games". =MLB.com. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Hummel, Rick (August 4, 2011). "Molina accepts 5-game suspension". Stltoday.com. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
- ^ Molina takes down fourth straight Gold Glove, MLB.com (Nov. 1, 2011)
- ^ Goold, Derrick (October 30, 2008). "Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina snag Fielding awards". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved October 30, 2008.
- ^ "Molina, Wainwright nab Gold Gloves: Back-to-back awards for Cards catcher; hurler wins first". MLB.com. November 11, 2009.
- ^ "Molina honored with first Gold Glove: Catcher's long-recognized defense finally nabs top NL award". MLB.com. November 5, 2008.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Yadier Molina page at stlcardinals.scout.com
- Angry Fan's Baseball Fix