Is former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina a Hall of Famer?
Around the Gateway City, just asking such a question, daring to suggest that it’s even up for debate, is akin to dismissing the Arch as a big croquet wicket. It’s like demeaning toasted ravioli as a glorified cheese stick.
How do you admit that you’ve never actually watched Molina play without stating that you’ve never watched Molina play? Because those who know what it truly means to be among Major League Baseball’s best, who excelled at the highest level of the sport and have a plaque with their name on it hanging in the Hall of Fame, seem to be in agreement.
Yadier Molina is not simply a Hall of Famer, but a first ballot inductee.
Johnny Bench, Ted Simmons Among Those Touting Yadier Molina as a Hall of Famer
Johnny Bench, considered by many to be the best ever to don the tools of ignorance, has repeatedly given Molina his stamp of approval. Ted Simmons, who sat atop the list of all-time Cardinals catchers before Molina’s arrival, willingly passed that title along to the player who retired from baseball after the 2022 season.
“He’s defensively the best catcher I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Simmons said in an August 2021 article for Bob Nightengale of USA Today. “I remember watching Yogi Berra, and Bill Freehan and Johnny Roseboro and Johnny Bench and Steve Yeager and Bob Boone, Manny Sanguillen and Jerry Grote. I’ve seen all of these great catchers in my lifetime.
“And I’ll tell you, he’s as good a catcher as anyone who played the game.”
And now, John Smoltz can be officially added to the list of all-time greats lauding Molina’s all-time greatness.
John Smoltz Lauds ‘Presence’ Yadier Molina Brought to Cardinals Clubhouse
Smoltz was recently in St. Louis as part of Fox’s “Baseball Night in America” broadcast of the Aug. 9 game between the Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. Molina was also in town that night, sitting in the dugout for the second straight game as a guest coach in what was his first appearance at Busch Stadium since 2023.
Early in the game, as cameras showed Yadier Molina back in a Cardinals uniform for the first time since his retirement, along with video of him working in the bullpen with catchers Pedro Pages and Yohel Pozo, the broadcast briefly turned to Molina’s impact on the sport. Smoltz, who ended his Hall of Fame career with a half-season in St. Louis in 2009, didn’t mince words when describing what he learned about Molina, who was behind the plate for six of Smoltz’s final seven big-league starts for the Cardinals.
“What I saw with my own eyes was what he was able to do,” Smoltz said.
“It’s not hard to say a lot of great things about Yadier Molina and what he means. His presence in the clubhouse is unmatched. … There was a presence when Yadi walked into a room. When he stood behind the plate, even if you weren’t at your best he was going to get the best out of you.”
And Molina was going to do everything in his power to keep opposing hitters and baserunners from executing their plans. Perhaps the clearest evidence of that comes from stolen base numbers between 2005 and 2022.
During Molina’s career, the Cardinals allowed just 886 stolen bases — the fewest in Major League Baseball over that span. The next closest team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowed 1,310.
“There were things that other teams knew they couldn’t do when they came to play the St. Louis Cardinals,” Smoltz stressed.
“The presentation (framing) at the plate, I would argue that he was the best all time. The one thing you knew, first of all, he could watch film forever. He was totally prepared. Every pitch was pretty much called with a purpose. He understood the game and watched hitters, understood hitting, and he exposed it. He was the threat.”
John Smoltz Says Yadier Molina’s Impact Goes Beyond Numbers: ‘He’s the Best’
Haters will look strictly at numbers on the page and try to argue that Molina simply didn’t do enough to warrant entry in the Hall. Career slash line of .277/.327/.399, with 408 doubles, 176 home runs and 1022 RBIs. Sure, he’s fourth all-time in games and innings played, but guys like Brad Ausmus and A.J. Pierzynski are among the top 10 in both categories, and they aren’t ever mentioned among the best to ever do it.
OPS, bWAR, wRC+ – no matter what alphabet soup of the day from the metrics menu that the anti-Molina crowd may try to force feed the argument, Smoltz doesn’t want to hear it.
“I got a chance to throw to him and I got the answer really quick. He’s the best,” Smoltz said.
“I’m here to tell you he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame.”
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