Molina Signs a 1-Year Deal With the Cards
The St. Louis Cardinals announced Tuesday that they have agreed to terms with catcher Yadier Molina on a one-year contract for the 2021 season. Financial terms were not disclosed. The 38-year old Molina has played every game of his career in a Cardinals uniform going back to 2004. His 2,025 career games are the most of any catcher for just one team. Molina is a nine-time Rawlings Gold Glove award winner, four-time Platinum Glove winner and nine-time National League All-Star. Molina said he’s taking everything year-by-year at this point in his career.
Molina will pass Bob Gibson (17) and move into 2nd this year with 18 seasons played solely for the Cardinals, trailing only Stan Musial’s record 22 seasons. He and Adam Wainwright, who also re-signed with St. Louis, have paired up in 274 games, ranking 6th all-time in Major League history in games started as battery mates. Molina said Wainwright is one of the reasons he is back for another season.
Among catching leaders, Molina leads all Cardinals and ranks among Major League historical leaders in several categories: 6th in games caught (1,989), starts at catcher (1,923) and innings caught (16,665.0); 4th in pick-offs (51); 2nd in putouts (13,741) and total chances (14,806) and 10th in caught stealing percentage (40.3%).
