Yadier Molina

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**Yadier Molina**

St. Louis Cardinals — No. 4
Catcher
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
June 3, 2004 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Selected MLB statistics (through October 2, 2006)
Batting average	.238
Hits	223
Home runs	16

Yadier B. Molina (b. July 13, 1982 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico) is a Major League Baseball catcher who plays for the 2006 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.

Molina is the third catcher to play in two World Series before age 25, along with Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra. In his young career, Molina has thrown out an unheard-of 42% of runners attempting to steal bases, and has routinely led major league catchers in pickoffs.

Molina's two older brothers, Bengie and José, are also major league catchers, Bengie with the San Francisco Giants, and José with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Both say Yadier is the best catcher among them. Bengie, José and Yadier are the only trio of brothers to have each earned World Series champion rings.

Molina made his debut with the Cardinals during the pennant-winning season of 2004, backing up Mike Matheny. Matheny served as a mentor to Molina, and like Matheny, Molina is an outstanding defensive catcher. Molina was picked over Matheny to start Game 4 of the 2004 World Series against the Boston Red Sox and during the following offseason, Matheny signed a 3-year, $10.5-million contract with the San Francisco Giants, clearing a 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.

In 2006, in Game 7 of the NLCS, Molina hit a 2-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 to defeat the Detroit Tigers.

Molina also played for the Puerto Rico team in the first World Baseball Classic. Yadier went 3-5 with an RBI in the four games that he played.