ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Yadier Molina was first compared to Tom Brady by his apprentice, then called "The Yad-father" by his manager on Saturday at St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm-Up.
The first compliment was given by his possible heir to the Cards backstop position, Andrew Knizner. The 23-year-old, who hit .315 as a late-season promotion with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, was asked about what it's like to be behind a guy who seems to keep getting better and playing more often with age.
"You're looking at Tom Brady, Yadier Molina, both Hall of Famers and everyones talks about who's going to take their job," Knizner says. "You've got to keep all expectations realistic."
So instead of thinking he can beat out Molina for a position, he's just going to learn from him. The most important lesson:
"Yadi always says that the No. 1 tool is your body, if you're body's not healthy then you can't play," Knizner says. "And another thing he touches on is that especially at the catching position you have to be mentally tough. What is that? That's fighting through nicks and pain and all kinds of things and I think that's one thing Yadi is especially good at."