Yadier Molina, baseball player, 176 home runs, 2004-2022

Yadier Molina

Born: 7/13/1982 in Bayamon, P.R.

MLB Debut: 2004-06-03 | Final Game: 2022-10-05

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 225 lbs

Full name: Yadier Benjamin Molina

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Biography

Yadier Molina, born in 1982, was a legendary catcher who played his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals from 2004 until his retirement in 2022. Over the course of 2,226 games, he established himself as one of the premier defensive catchers in baseball history, while also contributing significantly to the offensive lineup. Molina recorded 2,168 hits, 176 home runs, and 1,022 RBIs, finishing his career with a solid batting average of .277. Additionally, he showcased his speed on the bases with 71 stolen bases, an impressive feat for a player at his position. Molina's impact on the game extended beyond statistics; he was a 10-time All-Star and a key figure for the Cardinals during multiple postseason runs, including two World Series championships in 2006 and 2011. His leadership and ability to handle pitchers made him an invaluable asset to the team. Known for his exceptional defensive skills, Molina's agility and strong arm helped redefine the role of the modern catcher during his era. As a prominent figure in the game, Yadier Molina left an enduring legacy and is celebrated as one of the all-time greats in Major League Baseball.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2226 7817 777 2168 408 7 176 1022 71 542 922 0.277 0.327 0.399 0.726 -1762.9

Career AVG .277 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — +8.2% above league average.

Career OBP .327 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .399 vs. league average .413 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS 0.726 vs. league average 0.737 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
2004 STL NL 51 135 12 36 6 0 2 15 0 13 20 0.267 .266 (avg) .335 (-2%) .427 (-17%) .762 (-10%) -235.3
2005 STL NL 114 385 36 97 15 1 8 49 2 23 30 0.252 .264 (-5%) .330 (-11%) .418 (-14%) .749 (-13%) -1002.1
2006 STL NL 129 417 29 90 26 0 6 49 1 26 41 0.216 .269 (-20%) .336 (-19%) .431 (-26%) .768 (-23%) -1979.7
2007 STL NL 111 353 30 97 15 0 6 40 1 34 43 0.275 .268 (+3%) .335 (+1%) .422 (-13%) .758 (-7%) -401.6
2008 STL NL 124 444 37 135 18 0 7 56 0 32 29 0.304 .263 (+15%) .333 (+5%) .416 (-6%) .749 (-1%) -73.2
2009 STL NL 140 481 45 141 23 1 6 54 9 50 39 0.293 .262 (+12%) .332 (+10%) .417 (-8%) .750 (avg) 175.3
2010 STL NL 136 465 34 122 19 0 6 62 8 42 51 0.262 .257 (+2%) .325 (+1%) .402 (-15%) .728 (-8%) -624.0
2011 STL NL 139 475 55 145 32 1 14 65 4 33 44 0.305 .255 (+20%) .320 (+9%) .399 (+17%) .719 (+13%) 1170.8
2012 STL NL 138 505 65 159 28 0 22 76 12 45 55 0.315 .254 (+24%) .318 (+17%) .405 (+24%) .724 (+21%) 2132.5
2013 STL NL 136 505 68 161 44 0 12 80 3 30 55 0.319 .253 (+26%) .317 (+13%) .396 (+20%) .714 (+17%) 1610.7
2014 STL NL 110 404 40 114 21 0 7 38 1 28 55 0.282 .251 (+12%) .313 (+6%) .386 (avg) .700 (+3%) 224.7
2015 STL NL 136 488 34 132 23 2 4 61 3 32 59 0.270 .254 (+6%) .316 (-2%) .404 (-13%) .721 (-8%) -866.1
2016 STL NL 147 534 56 164 38 1 8 58 3 39 63 0.307 .255 (+20%) .321 (+12%) .417 (+2%) .738 (+6%) 789.0
2017 STL NL 136 501 60 137 27 1 18 82 9 28 74 0.273 .254 (+7%) .324 (-4%) .425 (+3%) .750 (avg) -146.6
2018 STL NL 123 459 55 120 20 0 20 74 4 29 66 0.261 .247 (+5%) .318 (-1%) .409 (+6%) .727 (+3%) 212.1
2019 STL NL 113 419 45 113 24 0 10 57 6 23 58 0.270 .252 (+7%) .322 (-3%) .434 (-8%) .757 (-6%) -559.3
2020 STL NL 42 145 12 38 2 0 4 16 0 6 21 0.262 .244 (+7%) .321 (-6%) .417 (-14%) .739 (-11%) -261.0
2021 STL NL 121 440 45 111 19 0 11 66 3 24 79 0.252 .243 (+3%) .317 (-6%) .410 (-10%) .727 (-8%) -752.4
2022 STL NL 80 262 19 56 8 0 5 24 2 5 40 0.214 .242 (-12%) .311 (-25%) .394 (-24%) .706 (-24%) -1176.7

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2.0 6 4 2 0 1 18.00 0

Career ERA 18.00 vs. league average 3.97 across their career seasons — 353.6% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
2022 STL NL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2.0 6 4 0 1 18.00 — -

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
104 373 29 102 19 0 4 36 27 44 0.273

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2022 NLWC2 SLN 2 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.125
2021 NLWC SLN 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
2020 NLWC2 SLN 3 13 2 6 2 0 0 2 1 1 0.462
2019 NLCS SLN 4 12 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 1 0.167
2019 NLDS2 SLN 5 21 1 3 0 0 0 2 1 2 0.143
2015 NLDS1 SLN 3 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.125
2014 NLCS SLN 2 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.333
2014 NLDS2 SLN 4 15 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 0.200
2013 NLCS SLN 6 22 2 5 0 0 0 1 3 4 0.227
2013 NLDS1 SLN 5 17 2 5 1 0 1 1 3 3 0.294
2013 WS SLN 6 23 0 7 1 0 0 2 1 3 0.304
2012 NLCS SLN 7 28 2 11 1 0 0 2 0 1 0.393
2012 NLDS1 SLN 5 17 3 2 0 0 0 1 5 1 0.118
2012 NLWC SLN 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.000
2011 NLCS SLN 6 24 5 8 3 0 0 2 2 3 0.333
2011 NLDS1 SLN 5 19 1 4 0 0 0 1 1 5 0.211
2011 WS SLN 7 24 1 8 2 0 0 9 4 3 0.333
2009 NLDS1 SLN 3 13 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.308
2006 NLCS SLN 7 23 2 8 1 0 2 6 3 2 0.348
2006 NLDS2 SLN 4 13 0 4 1 0 0 1 0 2 0.308
2006 WS SLN 5 17 3 7 2 0 0 1 3 1 0.412
2005 NLCS SLN 6 22 1 7 3 0 0 0 0 2 0.318
2005 NLDS1 SLN 3 13 1 3 0 0 0 3 0 1 0.231
2004 NLCS SLN 1 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.250
2004 WS SLN 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 48 5 110 12 3 11
3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
C 2184 2114 15122 1062 83 137
P 2 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
2004 SLN C 51 39 256 16 2 1
2005 SLN 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
2005 SLN C 114 111 684 66 7 4
2006 SLN 1B 4 0 5 0 1 1
2006 SLN C 127 118 734 79 4 6
2007 SLN 1B 1 0 1 0 0 0
2007 SLN C 107 101 582 63 6 8
2008 SLN 1B 2 1 13 3 0 1
2008 SLN C 119 114 653 70 10 7
2009 SLN 1B 6 0 10 1 0 2
2009 SLN C 138 136 884 82 5 6
2010 SLN 1B 7 0 7 0 0 2
2010 SLN C 135 130 895 79 5 10
2011 SLN 1B 2 0 3 0 1 0
2011 SLN C 137 132 857 67 5 5
2012 SLN 1B 3 0 11 2 0 0
2012 SLN C 136 133 962 88 3 12
2013 SLN 1B 5 2 17 1 0 1
2013 SLN C 131 129 976 63 4 11
2014 SLN 1B 1 1 10 1 0 0
2014 SLN C 107 106 810 56 2 10
2015 SLN C 134 131 1064 56 7 9
2016 SLN 1B 2 1 10 1 0 0
2016 SLN C 146 142 1113 60 2 5
2017 SLN 1B 1 0 4 0 0 0
2017 SLN C 133 133 1082 55 7 13
2018 SLN 1B 5 0 9 2 1 3
2018 SLN C 121 120 966 42 2 8
2019 SLN 1B 4 0 6 0 0 1
2019 SLN 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
2019 SLN C 111 108 916 30 1 5
2020 SLN 1B 2 0 3 0 0 0
2020 SLN C 42 42 307 16 5 1
2021 SLN 1B 1 0 1 1 0 0
2021 SLN C 118 118 869 49 3 10
2022 SLN 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
2022 SLN C 77 71 512 25 3 6
2022 SLN P 2 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 2
Catcher 2184
First Base 48
Third Base 1
Designated Hitter 5

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
2019 Player of the Week Week of 2019-08-31
2018 Gold Glove C
2018 Roberto Clemente Award
2015 Gold Glove C
2015 Platinum Glove
2014 Gold Glove C
2014 Platinum Glove
2013 Gold Glove C
2013 Silver Slugger C
2013 This Year in Baseball Defensive Player of the Year MLB.com GIBBY
2012 Gold Glove C
2012 Platinum Glove
2012 This Year in Baseball Defensive Player of the Year MLB.com GIBBY
2011 Gold Glove C
2011 Platinum Glove
2010 Gold Glove C
2009 Gold Glove C
2008 Gold Glove C

Featured In Rankings

#12
Top 20 Catchers in History of MLB Baseball
Ranked 12 of 20
→

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2016 SLN NL $14,200,000
2015 SLN NL $15,000,000
2014 SLN NL $15,000,000
2013 SLN NL $14,200,000
2012 SLN NL $7,000,000
2011 SLN NL $5,312,500
2010 SLN NL $4,312,500
2009 SLN NL $3,312,500
2008 SLN NL $1,812,500
2007 SLN NL $525,000
2006 SLN NL $400,000
2005 SLN NL $323,500
Total Career Earnings $81,398,500

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
2016 Most Valuable Player NL 23th 2.0 420 0
2013 Most Valuable Player NL 3rd 219.0 420 2
2012 Most Valuable Player NL 4th 241.0 448 1
2011 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 2.0 448 0
2009 Most Valuable Player NL 23th 3.0 448 0