ST. LOUIS – The No. 4, synonymous all throughout St. Louis and Cardinals Nation with legendary former catcher Yadier Molina, is returning to the Cardinals’ dugout … for two nights.
The 10-time All-Star, nine-time Gold Glove winner and two-time World Series champion will be back in uniform and in the Cards’ dugout tonight and Saturday when the club takes on the rival Cubs at Busch Stadium. Molina, who starred for the Cardinals from 2004-22, was scheduled to be in St. Louis for personal business purposes in early August, and he reached out to the organization about a possible return to Busch Stadium and being in uniform.
Molina, the manager for Puerto Rico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic and someone who aspires to manage at the MLB level, was invited by manager Oliver Marmol to sit alongside him in the dugout. Marmol thinks having Molina in the dugout will benefit a young Cards club that could learn from his nearly two decades of knowledge gained from starring behind the plate.
“I think it will be a really, really cool experience for a lot of reasons,” Marmol said. “It’s great for the organization, the players and the fanbase.
“Even if it’s just for two days, I’ll take it because having that level of experience in the dugout and around the players … he just has a unique way of communicating what [success] looks like.”
It is believed to be the first time that Molina – a strong candidate to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 2028 – will be back at Busch Stadium for the first time since the season finale in 2023 when 200-game winner and close friend Adam Wainwright retired. Molina was hired by the Cardinals as a special assistant to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, but he was unable to fulfill most of those expected duties due to family reasons, per the club. Molina wrapped up his playing career in 2022 by helping the Cardinals win the National League Central crown and make the playoffs – their most recent postseason appearance.
Widely considered to be one of the greatest defensive catchers in MLB history with ability to block baseballs and throw out runners, Molina was a driving force on Cardinals teams that won World Series titles in 2006 and ’11. While playing all 19 of his MLB seasons in St. Louis, Molina was a part of 13 playoff teams and four NL pennant winners.
When he retired in 2022, Molina was first all-time among catchers in putouts and first among catchers with 184 Defensive Runs Saved (per FanGraphs, since 2002 when the stat was first tracked). Molina led NL catchers in caught stealing percentage four times and assists three times. He also teamed with Wainwright to set the MLB record for most games started (328) and most team wins (213) as a battery – records that many baseball historians believe will never be broken.
Known primarily for his defense early in his career, Molina also turned himself into a strong hitter. In 2,224 MLB games – all with the Cardinals – he compiled 2,168 hits, 176 homers and 1,022 RBIs while hitting .277. His finest season at the plate came in 2012, when he hit .315 with 22 home runs and an .874 OPS.
Marmol, who managed Molina in his final season and was the team’s bench coach for years when Molina was still starring behind the plate, believes that the all-time great has all the tools to become a great manager someday.
“He’s an incredible baseball mind and he’s passionate about teaching,” Marmol said. “He’s in tune with the game, and the combination of all those things, I think will allow him to manage at a high level.”
