Yadier Molina, who is retired from MLB at this point after playing his final season in 2022, is a St. Louis Cardinals legend.
His offensive numbers, albeit decent, weren’t as impressive as his defensive performance.
As a catcher, Molina had it all: he was a master of calling games and knew how to take advantage of every situation.
He was a sound communicator, a leader, a very good framer, and had an incredibly strong and accurate throwing arm.
Runners, plain and simple, were afraid to run on Molina because they knew they would get caught most of the time.
We have the stat that proves just about how scared opposing baserunners were of Molina’s arm, courtesy of MLB analyst Danny Vietti.
“Fewest stolen bases allowed in MLB since 2005: 1.) Cardinals: 886 SBs; *a huge gap* 2.) Diamondbacks: 1,310 SBs; 3.) Royals: 1,351 SBs; 4.) Twins: 1,407 SBs; 5.) Orioles: 1,436 SBs; 5.) Astros: 1,436 SBs. Yadier Molina’s first full season: 2005,” he tweeted.
Fewest stolen bases allowed in MLB since 2005:
1.) Cardinals: 886 SBs
*a huge gap*
2.) Diamondbacks: 1,310 SBs
3.) Royals: 1,351 SBs
4.) Twins: 1,407 SBs
5.) Orioles: 1,436 SBs
5.) Astros: 1,436 SBsYadier Molina’s first full season: 2005 pic.twitter.com/Di7doXihFa
— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) February 3, 2023
Wow.
The difference between the Cardinals and the second-placed Arizona Diamondbacks is huge.
There, you can see the impact Molina had on limiting the running game.
They appointed Willson Contreras as his replacement and gave him a prominent multi-year deal.
Contreras is a superior offensive catcher to Molina, but doesn’t quite measure up on defense and arm.
To be fair to Contreras, no one does.
He is very good in his own right, though, and Cardinals fans need to move on and start thinking about the future.
It’s always nice to remember the past and the two World Series Molina helped them win.
