Yadier Molina, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
Yadier Benjamín Molina (Spanish pronunciation: [ʝaˈdjeɾ moˈlina]; born July 13, 1982), nicknamed "Yadi", is a Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB), with whom he has played his entire 18-year MLB career. Widely considered one of the greatest defensive catchers of all time, Molina has won nine Rawlings Gold Gloves and six Fielding Bible Awards. A two-time World Series champion, he has played for the Cardinals in twelve playoff appearances and four National League pennant winners. Molina has also played for the Puerto Rican national team in four World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournaments, winning two silver medals.
Molina ranks second all-time among catchers with 130 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), and is first among active catchers with 845 assists, 40.21% of runners caught stealing, and 55 pickoffs. As a hitter, Molina has accrued more than 2,000 hits, 150 home runs, and 900 runs batted in (RBIs), while batting over .300 in five seasons. Other distinctions include selection to ten MLB All-Star Games, four Platinum Glove Awards, and one Silver Slugger Award. He is a two-time selection to the All-WBC Tournament Team and was a member of the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series.
The product of a baseball family, Molina was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. His father was an amateur second baseman and the all-time hits leader in Puerto Rican baseball, and his two older brothers, Bengie and José, also developed into standout defensive catchers with lengthy MLB careers. Long before playing professionally, Molina's pitch-handling and throwing skills caught the attention of scouts. The Cardinals' fourth-round selection in the 2000 MLB draft, he quickly showed one of the strongest and most accurate arms in the game after starting play in the major leagues. Having earned a reputation as a team leader throughout his career, Molina formulates fielder positioning plans and complete pitching strategies to opposing hitters. Currently, Molina is the longest-tenured player in Major League Baseball with one team, having been with the Cardinals since the middle of the 2004 season.
Molina has appeared on five NL Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) ballots, including finishing fourth in 2012 and third in 2013. When Hurricane Maria ravaged the island of Puerto Rico in September 2017, Molina began relief efforts for victims of the catastrophe, consequently receiving the Roberto Clemente Award in 2018.