ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The longevity of Yadier Molina behind the plate for the St. Louis Cardinals is unlike anything the baseball world has ever seen. On Wednesday, the 38-year-old backstop completed something never before done by a catcher in Major League Baseball history.
Molina is just the sixth catcher in MLB history to reach the 2,000 games played milestone – joining Iván Rodríguez (2,427), Carlton Fisk (2,226), Bob Boone (2,225), Gary Carter (2,056) and Jason Kendall (2,025).
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But Molina is the first catcher ever to accomplish the feat with just one team.
And he of course received a great standing ovation after the first pitch of the afternoon game against the Nationals. Both teams' dugouts stood up and clapped for him too:
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And to make his special day even better, Molina hit a single in his first at bat to extend his current hit streak to 10 games.
There was a chance that it would happen on Tuesday, but the Cardinals decided to sit Molina for a game. But maybe there's a bit more intention behind it? Because Wednesday's starter is Adam Wainwright – who has been Molina's battery mate for essentially pitcher's entire MLB career.
The Cardinals icon of nearly two decades may end this season with the fourth-most games played by a catcher in MLB history. And who knows, maybe he's got enough in the tank to play three more seasons and compete for Rodríguez's all-time title. Molina has shown no signs of slowing down the last few seasons both on offense and defense.
Molina became the MLB record-holder for games played at catcher for a single team in 2018, when he caught his 1,757th game for St. Louis.
This offseason, he signed a one-year deal to return to St. Louis after becoming a free agent for the first time in his now 18-year MLB career. Let's enjoy every moment of Yadi we get for now and worry about a possible new contract after this season.
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