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Something you’ll immediately notice is that Molina is squaring up pitches he sees in the strike zone a whole lot more than he was in 2016, and for that matter, 2015. Molina usually feasts off pitches inside, but that seems to have changed recently. December 5, 2015 – Yadier Molina, recipient of his eighth consecutive Gold Glove and fourth Platinum Glove awards, hosted the 2015 Yadier Molina Home Run Derby & Celebrity Softball Game at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium.
Despite everything, Molina honored Beltran at the event for his 20-year career and 2017 championship ring with the Astros. Beltran sent his well wishes to Molina for uniting Team Rubio once again -- the group of athletes and friends last met during the World Baseball Classic in February of this year. Beltran donated $20,000 to Foundation 4 on behalf of him and his wife, Jessica. The newly retired Carlos Beltran was expected to attend, but his flight got canceled due to the season's first snowfall in New York. Still, the slugger refused to miss it, sending a video explaining his absence that played on the stadium's Jumbotron. Molina’s contributions to the game aren't confirmed to St. Louis, or even just MLB.
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For one thing, Wins Above Replacement has always been an iffy stat for measuring catcher value for multiple reasons, one big one being that it ignores the value of pitch framing, a skill at which Molina has always excelled. The grueling act of squatting through nearly 1,700 regular-season games is one that can transcend our usual metrics. Molina has been around so long, he was prominently featured in MVP Baseball 2005 for Pete's sake. Two days after their season ends, most major leaguers are hard at rest, shedding the wear and tear of a 162-game, sixth-month marathon.... Molina was on a mission to claim the Home Run Derby title from Baez, who won it in 2015.
A native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, born into a baseball family, he hopes to impact the rich culture of Puerto Rican baseball’s ever-growing landscape. Scaring the crap out of everyone from basestealers to future teammates with his stellar defense, and entertaining fans with playful intensity, and C3PO-level swagger. Those who've watched him play and followed his career can tell lots of Yadi stories. And Molina cemented his status as the unofficial MVP by wearing a staring-into-the-sun-level shiny gold getup, his mask and chest protector looking like either Roman gladiator wear, or maybe something a little more space-aged.
Yadier Molina Home Run Derby & Celebrity Softball Game
By Wins Above Replacement, Molina doesn't rank anywhere near existing Hall of Fame standards, instead sitting near the likes of Jered Weaver, Jason Heyward, and John Lackey. He very quickly became the most feared thrower in the game, and one of the best of all time. In his first full season in 2005, Molina threw out 25 of the 39 runners who tried to steal off him, an unfathomably high 64 percent caught-stealing rate. By comparison, the MLB-wide rate for catching runners stealing that year was 29 percent.
Two days after Hurricane Maria stroke the island of Puerto Rico, Yadier and his wife Sandra urged to help people in Puerto Rico.
MLB Players Home Run Derby
Participants of the charity event included Carlos Beltran, Jorge Posada, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Gomez, Francisco Lindor, Salvador Perez, Javier Baez, Enrique Hernandez, Jose Berrios, Rafael Furcal, among many others. In a game that ran counter to everything that's happened in the Year of the Home Run, Molina delivered the only long ball of the game in regulation, an opposite-field shot to right-center in the sixth that tied the game for the National League. He served as the game's official on-field photographer, snapping a pic of Nelson Cruz standing at home plate with umpire Joe West for some hilarious reason.
The one constant behind all those years of pitching excellence has been Molina. Talking to Cardinals pitchers and others around the team over the years, they all swear that hitters are batting .000 lifetime immediately after a reassuring Molina mound visit. "I am so happy with the support given by the players of Team Rubio who donated their time to be present here and to unite and bring happiness once again to the people of Puerto Rico," said Molina, captain of Team Rubio and catcher of the St. Louis Cardinals. Quiet, respectful and reserved, Molina may be a silent leader, but he shows strong conviction in everything he says and all that he stands for. He may be greeted with boos when he comes to bat at other teams' ballparks, but sometimes in baseball that’s how you know you’re doing something right. But at the risk of violating my analytical cred, Molina might be the one player you truly can't fully measure by the usual numbers.
Yadier Molina HR Derby
2nd Yadier Molina Home Run Derby and Celebrity Softball Game in Hiram Bithorn Stadium of San Juan, Puerto Rico. We had over 20,000 fans in attendance, raised over $220,000.00 for the victims of Hurricane Maria. Yadier Molina enjoying some quality time with kids from the Puerto Rico Society of St. Louis. MLB.com The education, Yadier Molina recalled, started at home, where a picture of the great Roberto Clemente hung prominently on the...
But Baez wasn't giving up that easy, mashing 30 homers in the first round alone to put on a show for the fans at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. Then, MLB's longest-tenured Puerto Rican player made a comeback, winning the batting title and celebrating both as a host and victor of the event. Those who only see him doing his job might assume Molina to be serious at all times. But make no mistake, he still knows how to have fun with baseball and everything that comes with it. MILWAUKEE — No matter what one thinks of Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, one must realize that his impact on baseball during his 14-year career is undeniable, especially in St. Louis and especially among his teammates.
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV.com) - Yadier Molina and wife teamed up with his non-profit to raise funds for victims of Hurricane Maria. While Molina's rediscovered power has certainly helped the Cardinals in 2017, his influence extends beyond the field. As a veteran leader in the clubhouse, and having been a member of the Cardinals organization for longer than some of his teammates have even been out of high school, his touch is lasting.
Admission was free to the Yadier Molina Home Run Derby & Celebrity Softball Game. The gates opened at 10 a.m., and the lines began outside the stadium at 5 a.m. The event was organized by MDR Sports Management, the agency that represents Yadier Molina and is owned by agent Melvin Román.
ESPN.com St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina of Puerto Rico has won the award named after the most famous player from the island,... MLB.com ST. LOUIS -- Already one of the most decorated defenders at the catching position in Major League history, Yadier Molina added a... Of course offense has rarely been Molina's calling card, even though he was a damn fine hitter in his prime. The youngest of the great baseball-playing Molina brothers will one day punch his ticket to Cooperstown mostly because of his historically great defense. Beyond that, he'll be remembered for a combination of his fiery demeanor, his calming influence on pitchers, and the instant, and then lasting impact he made on the game.
Molina's led the league four times in that category, gunning down a stunning 41 percent of would-be basestealers in what's coming up on a 14-season major league career. Molina has homered 15 times this season, something he hasn’t done since 2012, when he hit 22 home runs and had what most would define as the best offensive year of his career. And he’s doing this at age 35, while holding down just shy of 115 games at the most demanding position in baseball. Molina has spent 14 years in the big leagues, in the same uniform, and yet he’s still finding ways to intrigue folks and leave them asking questions. This time, the question was how he has suddenly re-emerged as a power hitter. Beyond just erasing baserunners, he's been the stabilizing force behind more than a decade of stellar Cardinals run prevention.
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