Puerto Rico's Yadi Molina will play in his 18th MLB season
11/02/2021 2 Minute Read

Puerto Rico's Yadi Molina will play in his 18th MLB season

The 38-year old catcher represented Puerto Rico in all four World Baseball Classic editions and managed the National Team in the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2018.

Legendary catcher Yadi Molina has agreed to terms with the St Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB) on a one-year US$ 9 million contract.

Yadier Benjamin Molina was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico in 1982. When the St Louis Cardinals drafted him out of high school in 2000, both his older brothers, Bengie and José, had developed into MLB catchers.

Molina went through a rough negotiation before agreeing to terms with the club. The Cardinals' President of Baseball Operation John Mozeliak, then the scouting director, recalled in an interview to MLB.com that area scout Steve Turco helped his decision with this piece of advice: "Give him anything he wants".

Molina signed for a US$ 325,000 bonus.

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Molina has played in over 2,000 MLB games for the Cardinals, 1,989 at catcher. This marks the most with a single team at the position in MLB history. He will enter his 18th season with St Louis.

Molina helped the Cardinals win two World Series titles (2006, 2011). A nine-time MLB All-Star, he has also won nine gold gloves.

Molina enjoyed a relevant international career as a player. He represented Puerto Rico in all four editions of the World Baseball Classic.

He also started a coaching career on the world stage. He was the manager of Puerto Rico at the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup 2018.

Molina recently played in Winter Baseball League of Puerto Rico (LBPRC, Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente -- WBSC Associate Member). He helped the Criollos de Caguas become the most successful club in the history of the league.

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