Three seasons after Yadier Molina caught his last game for the St. Louis Cardinals, the team is bringing back the likely future Hall of Famer as a special assistant to president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. In a 19-year career he spent solely in St. Louis, Molina appeared in his most games, 247, against the Brewers and Cubs. His 27 home runs versus Milwaukee were his second-most against any team. Molina tagged the Reds, another NL Central member, for 28.
Living legend returns to clubhouse of Brewers’ NL Central foe
Since retiring in 2022, Molina has found success coaching in Puerto Rico and Venezuela. According to ESPN, Molina made the playoffs and was named manager of the year last season for Venezuela’s Navegantes del Magallanes. In 2023 and ’24, he won a pair of Roberto Clemente League championships for Puerto Rico’s Criollos de Caguas. He also brought them to the 2024 Caribbean Series.
Bloom issued the following statement to announce Molina’s new position in Major League Baseball, via team reporter Jeff Jones:
“We are happy to welcome Yadi back to the Cardinals organization. He is an elite competitor, a consistent winner, and one of the greatest ever at his position, and we look forward to many contributions during his visits with us in this new role, both in and out of uniform. Yadi will provide input on our catching program, will advise our staff on catching and game planning strategy, and will give me and our front office valuable perspective from his unique vantage point. Perhaps most important, he will help us nurture in our players the high standards, attention to detail, and championship mindset that are so critical to winning.”
As a player, Molina won World Series rings with the Cardinals in 2006 and 2011, made 10 All-Star games and earned nine Gold Gloves. He won a Silver Slugger award in 2013 with career-highs in batting average (.319), RBIs (80), and doubles (44). From 2012-13, Molina compiled 13.4 WAR across his two most successful years at the plate.
It was his defensive work on which Molina built his strongest reputation. A savvy signal caller behind the dish, he also had a cannon for an arm. He finished his career with a 40.3 caught stealing percentage and four times he led the league in the category. Only seven times did he finish below 40%. Just once, in 2016, did he record a rate below league-average. Twice he threw out over half of would-be thieves, including an eye-popping 64.1% in his second season.
Molina finished his career with 176 home runs, 1,022 RBIs, and over 2,000 hits while hitting .277/.327.399. Those numbers are similar to his production against the Brewers, whom he tagged for a .261/.323/.405 slash line in 947 plate appearances. Molina is the all-time leader in putouts with 15,122.
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