The Cardinals and Yadier Molina have agreed to terms on a one-year contract to keep him in Cardinal Red through next season.
The Arm.
The Captain.
The glue that holds this whole crazy thing together.
Going on 18 seasons and still a force to be reckoned with. Yadi has grown up so much since starting with the big club in 2004. He has worked/played with some of the biggest names in baseball. He trained under one of the best catchers in the world. Our pitchers and coaches regularly exalt his name and praise his contributions.
There's not much to say that hasn't already been said.
I'll just leave you with this...
ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – Major League Baseball learned of Yadier Molina’s greatness during the first postseason start of his career, in the 2004 World Series versus the Boston Red Sox.
The St. Louis Cardinals were down three games to none, and catcher Mike Matheny was benched for Game 4 in St. Louis. A rookie, Molina had played in only 51 games that season.
But early in Game 4, he came to Matheny for advice, after he noticed Boston slugger Manny Ramirez relaying signs to David Ortiz at the plate about which pitch was coming.
“I said, ‘When he comes up, make sure he knows that you’re on to it,’” Matheny said according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I didn’t know that he was going to take his mask off and get in (Ramirez’s) face. I was sitting over there saying, ‘That’s probably not what I would have done … but that will work.”
Molina met Ramirez at home plate in the top of the fourth, and had no problem standing up to that season’s American League home-run champ.
Boston manager Terry Francona came out to squash the chances of the altercation becoming physical, and talked about the incident in his memoir “Francona: The Red Sox Years.”
When Francona heard what Molina was accusing Ramirez of, he turned toward plate umpire Chuck Meriweather: “Chuck, Manny doesn’t even know our signs.”
Francona then asked Ramirez, “You don’t know our signs, do you, Manny?”
Ramirez replied, “No.”
That’s just a hilarious “Manny-being-Manny” side note to the main story, that Molina demanded respect from his first moments in the big leagues. Ramirez had more home runs, than Yadi had hits in the 2004 season. And remember, this was before the steroid rumors surrounded Ramirez’s career.
Molina was 21-years-old, but wouldn’t let Ramirez, 32, break one of baseball’s unwritten rules.
Molina’s dedication to protecting his sport will certainly be remembered after his Hall-of-Fame career comes to a close.
