Joe Mauer to Cooperstown in 2024 and Yadier Molina in 2028 or beyond?

Joe Mauer is on track to get needed votes for a 2024 induction into Cooperstown. As of January 14, 2024, he was named on 131, for 83.4 percent of 157 known ballots. He needs 157 more votes, 69.2 percent of the remaining 227 ballots, to reach 75 percent. Mauer is the ONLY catcher to win American League (AL) batting titles, doing so in 2006, 2008, and 2009. Only two catchers won a National League (NL) batting crown: Bubbles Hargrave, 1926 Cincinnati Reds (.353), and Ernie Lombardi, 1938 Reds (.342) and 1942 Reds (.330). This blog focuses on Mauer’s merits, primarily his offense, and the case of Yadier Molina, whose strength was his defense, and benefits from newer defensive metrics such as framing. He hit well in four World Series with St. Louis whereas Mauer never played in a World Series.

A key difference between Mauer and Molina (2004-2022) is the proportion of games at catcher. Mauer’s 921 games catcher comprised 49.6 percent of 1,858 career Minnesota Twins games from 2004 to 2018. He was mainly a catcher between 2004-2013 but mostly a first baseman and DH his last five seasons. Mauer also played a lot of first base in addition to DH in 2011 and 2012He became a 2009 AL MVP, 5x Silver Slugger winner, 6x All-Star, and 3x Gold Glove recipient. The St. Paul, Minnesota native, born April 19, 1983, played at 6’5,” and 225 pounds. Table I summarizes his big-league regular season and post-season hitting stats, along with his MLB All-Star Games and minor-league hitting.

Table I: Joe Mauer’s Minnesota, Minors, All-Star Games and Post-Season Stats

Year	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	K	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2004	35	107	18	33	8	1	6	17	14	11	.308	.369	.570	.939
2005	131	489	61	144	26	2	9	55	64	61	.295	.372	.411	.783
2006	140	521	86	181	36	4	13	84	54	79	.347	.429	.507	.936
2007	109	406	62	119	27	3	7	60	51	57	.293	.382	.426	.808
2008	146	536	98	176	31	4	9	85	50	84	.328	.413	.452	.865
2009	138	523	94	191	30	1	28	96	63	76	.365	.444	.587	1.031
2010	137	510	88	167	43	1	9	75	53	65	.328	.402	.469	.871
2011	82	296	38	85	15	0	3	30	38	32	.287	.360	.368	.729
2012	147	545	81	174	31	4	10	85	88	90	.319	.416	.446	.862
2013	113	445	62	144	35	0	11	47	89	61	.324	.404	.476	.880
2014	120	455	60	126	27	2	4	55	96	60	.277	.361	.371	.732
2015	158	592	69	157	34	2	10	66	112	67	.265	.338	.380	.718
2016	134	494	68	129	22	4	11	49	93	79	.261	.363	.389	.752
2017	141	525	69	160	36	1	7	71	83	66	.305	.384	.417	.801
2018	127	486	64	137	27	1	6	48	86	51	.282	.351	.379	.729
Total	1858	6930	1018	2123	428	30	143	923	1034	939	.306	.388	.439	.827
Minors	304	1121	153	368	66	5	10	176	112	138	.328	.403	.423	.826
AL#	6	10	1	4	1	0	0	1	1	1	.400	.455	.500	.955
Post!	10	40	1	11	1	0	0	1	7	4	.275	.341	.300	.641

#AL-NL All-Star Games. !Post-season games with Minnesota Twins. Source: Baseball-Reference.

Yadier Molina Deserves Serious Cooperstown Consideration Starting in 2028

Molina, the youngest of three brothers who caught in the majors, earned World Series rings with 2006 and 2011 St. Louis. Siblings José, 2002 Angels and 2009 Yankees, and Bengie—2002 Angels and 2010 Giants—also did so. Chris Bodig’s analysis of Yadier’s Cooperstown credentials was published on October 10, 2022, in https://www.cooperstowncred.com/has-yadier-molina-framed-his-hall-of-fame-case/ Yadier, born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, on July 13, 1982, played at 5’11” and 225 pounds. Bodig noted these Yadier career exploits:

• .277 BA, 176 HR, 1,022 RBI, 2,168 Hits
• 96 OPS+, 42.3 bWAR (Wins Above Replacement)
• 55.7 fWAR (FanGraphs version of WAR)
• 10-time NL All-Star
• 9-time NL Gold Glove Award winner
• 162 “Total Zone” fielding runs above average (Baseball-Reference), 2nd most all-time for catchers to Iván “Pudge” Rodriguez
• 40.3 percent of runners caught stealing (best among active catchers)
• 2,184 games caught (4th most in baseball history)
• One homer every 44.4 AB versus Mauer’s one homer every 48.5 AB
• 2006 and 2011 World Series Champion with St. Louis Cardinals
• .328 BA, 12 RBI in 21 World Series games.

Note: Total Zone catcher data looks at stolen bases (SB) allowed, caught stealing (CS), errors, pickoffs, passed balls, and wild pitches, among other indicators.

Table II summarizes Yadier’s hitting stats with St. Louis, minors, Puerto Rico Winter League (PRWL)—Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League since May 2012, seven National League (NL) All-Star Games, and 104 post-season games with the Cardinals. He caught for Team Puerto Rico, in 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2017 World Baseball Classics (WBC), helping them win Silver Medals in 2013 and 2017. Forty-year-old Molina managed Puerto Rico to the Quarter-Finals in the March 2023 WBC, at Miami’s loanDepot Park. He managed the 2023-24 Caguas Criollos to the finals versus his old team—Carolina Giants—who play home games at Roberto Clemente Walker Stadium. He is a 3x winner of the Pedrín Zorrilla Award in Puerto Rico, and the 2018 Roberto Clemente Award, given by the MLB Commissioner. (Pedrín signed Clemente to his first pro baseball contract, 1952-53 PRWL season.) Yadier’s Caribbean Series play with Carolina (2007) and Caguas (2021) will be mentioned in the author’s 2024 book, The Caribbean Series: Latin America’s Baseball Tournament, 1949-2024.

Table II: Yadier Molina’s St. Louis, Minors, All-Star Games, Post-Season, and Puerto Rico Stats

Year	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	K	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2004	51	135	12	36	6	0	2	15	20	13	.267	.329	.356	.684
2005	114	385	36	97	15	1	8	49	30	23	.252	.295	.358	.654
2006	129	417	29	90	26	0	6	49	41	26	.216	.274	.321	.595
2007	111	353	30	97	15	0	6	40	43	34	.275	.340	.368	.708
2008	124	444	37	135	18	0	7	56	29	32	.304	.349	,392	.740
2009	140	481	45	141	23	1	6	54	39	50	.293	.366	.383	.749
2010	136	465	34	122	19	0	6	62	51	42	.262	.329	.342	.671
2011	139	475	55	145	32	1	14	65	44	33	.305	.349	.465	.814
2012	138	505	65	159	28	0	22	76	55	45	.315	.373	.501	.874
2013	136	505	68	161	44	0	12	80	55	30	.319	.359	.477	.836
2014	110	404	40	114	21	0	7	38	55	28	.282	.333	.386	.719
2015	136	488	34	132	23	2	4	61	59	32	.270	.310	.350	.660
2016	147	534	56	164	38	1	8	58	63	39	.307	.360	.427	.787
2017	136	501	60	137	27	1	18	82	74	28	.273	.312	.439	.751
2018	123	459	55	120	20	0	20	74	66	29	.261	.314	.436	.750
2019	113	419	45	113	24	0	10	57	58	23	.270	.312	.399	.711
2020	42	145	12	38	2	0	4	16	21	6	.262	.303	.359	.662
2021	121	440	45	111	19	0	11	66	79	24	.252	.297	.370	.667
2022	78	262	19	56	8	0	5	24	40	5	.214	.233	.302	.535
Total	2224	7817	777	2168	408	7	176	1022	922	542	.277	.327	.399	.726
Minors	311	1080	113	299	53	1	15	142	132	76	.277	.334	.369	.704
NL#	7	9	2	5	1	0	1	2	0	1	.556	.600	1.000	1.600
Post!	104	373	29	102	19	0	4	36	44	27	.273	.326	.357	.682
PRWL~		702	60	183	27	0	12	83	79	41	.261	.350

#NL-AL All-Star Games. !Post-season games with St. Louis. ~Carolina Giants.

Sources: Baseball-Reference and https://beisbol101.com/jugador/yadier-molina/

Yadier Molina’s Longevity, Clutch Hitting, and Outstanding Defense

Molina’s 2,224 big-league games included 2,184 as a backstop, 98.2 percent of the total. No other catcher in major league history has caught that many games for one team. In 2020, he drilled his 2,000^th career hit, followed by RBI #1,000 in May 2022. Yadier is one of eight AL/NL catchers with over 2,000 hits and 1,000 RBIs. Table III lists the “Elite Eight” catchers. The other seven are enshrined in Cooperstown.

Table III: Eight Big League Catchers with more than 2,000 Hits and 1,000 RBIs

Catcher	HT.-WT.	Place of Birth	Hits & RBIs	Cooperstown
Johnny Bench#	6-1, 197	Oklahoma City	2048 & 1376	Class of 1989
Yogi Berra	5-7, 185	St. Louis, MO	2150 & 1430	Class of 1972
Gary Carter>	6-2, 205	Culver City, CA	2092 & 1225	Class of 2003
Carlton Fisk	6-3, 200	Bellow Falls, VT	2356 & 1330	Class of 2000
Yadier Molina<	5-11, 225	Bayamón, PR	2168 & 1022	Pending
Mike Piazza^	6-3, 200	Norristown, PA	2127 & 1335	Class of 2016
Iván Rodríguez	5-9, 205	Manatí, PR	2844 & 1332	Class of 2017
Ted Simmons&	5-11, 193	Highland Park, MI	2472 & 1389	Class of 2020

#1967-68 San Juan Senators catcher; >1973-75 Caguas Criollos catcher; <Eight seasons

with Carolina Giants; ^1991-92 Mexicali Eagles catcher; !Twelve seasons with Caguas

Criollos, Mayagüez Indios, and Bayamón Cowboys. &1969-70 Licey Tigers catcher.

Sources: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum 2023 Yearbook, and https://beisbol101.com/jugador/ivan-rodriguez/.

Ted Simmons alerted the author, in Hot Springs, Arkansas, circa August 2020, that: “The three Molina catchers from Puerto Rico are a testament to that Island’s talent at that position. Remarkably, three brothers played the most difficult baseball position at such a high level.” Simmons added: “Yadier Molina deserves to make it to Cooperstown.”

Table IV highlights the number of Gold Glove (GG) Awards earned by Puerto Rico-born catchers, Stateside players who caught in the PRWL or LBPRC, and those who played or managed in the Dominican Winter League (LIDOM) and Venezuelan Winter League (LVBP).

Table IV: AL and NL GG by Selected Catchers with a Winter Ball Connection

AL Catchers	Teams/GG	Total	NL Catchers	Teams/GG	Total
Iván Rodríguez!	TX(10)DET (3)	13	Johnny Bench!	CIN (10)	10
Bob Boone!	CAL(4)KCR(1)	5	Yadier Molina!	SLC (9)	9
Salvador Pérez#	KCR (5)	5	Del Crandall^	MLW (4)	4
Earl Battey#	MIN (3)	3	Gary Carter!	MTL (3)	3
Thurman Munson!	NYY (3)	3	Mike Matheny!	SLC (3)	3
Lance Parrish!	DET (3)	3	Tom Pagnozzi!	SLC (3)	3
Ray Fosse#	CLE (2)	2	Tony Peña^	PIT (3)	3
Elston Howard!	NYY (2)	2	Benito Santiago!	SDP (3)	3
Bengie Molina!	ANA (2)	2	Bob Boone!	PHI (2)	2
Roberto Pérez!	CLE (2)	2	John Roseboro#	LAD (2)	2
Sandy Alomar Jr.!	CLE (1)	1	Jody Davis#	CHC (1)	1
Martín Maldonado!	LAA (1)	1	Kirt Manwaring!	SFG (1)	1
Tony Peña^	BOS (1)	1	Gabriel Moreno#	ARI (1)	1

!PRWL and LBPRC; #LVBP; ^LIDOM. Crandall managed Licey. Davis managed Zulia.

Tony Peña played for Águilas Cibaeñas and later managed them. Source: Baseball-Reference.

Post-Season Heroics

Molina’s two-run homer in Game Seven of the 2006 NLCS at Shea Stadium sent St. Louis to the Fall Classic versus Detroit. That homer off Mets reliever Aaron Heilman preceded Adam Wainwright fanning Carlos Beltrán in the home ninth with the bases loaded and two outs. Molina posted a .412 BA in the 2006 Fall Classic, won by the Cardinals in five. In Game Five, he smashed three hits and scored twice off rookie sensation Justin Verlander, a future Cooperstown inductee. In the 2011 World Series against Texas, he recorded a .471/.524/.588 slash line in Games Three-Seven, after an 0-for-7 start. This could boost Molina’s Cooperstown credentials.

Modern Fielding Metrics

Key defensive metrics include total Games Caught (GC), Catcher’s ERA (cERA), CS percentage, dWAR, WAR runs from fielding (RField), Total Zone (TZ), and Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). The DRS is from FanGraphs, with the others via Baseball-Reference. Table V illustrates Molina’s defense prowess versus top-notch catchers from the same era per Chris Bodig. Baseball Writer Association of America (BBWAA) voters in 2028 should consider Table V data.

Table V: Defensive Metrics for 10 Catchers including Yadier Molina

Catcher	GC	cERA	CS %	dWAR	RField	TZ	DRS
Yadier Molina	2184	3.69	40	28.0	138	162	184
Jason Kendall	2025	4.40	29	13.9	17	-11	27
A.J. Pierzynski	1936	4.16	28	8.4	-43	-36	-62
Brian McCann	1612	3.82	25	7.9	-23	-2	26
Russell Martin	1579	3.72	30	16.5	55	13	131
Jorge Posada	1574	4.33	28	2.6	-60	-36	-80
Jason Varitek	1488	4.08	23	8.8	-7	-7	-11
Salvador Pérez	1109	4.04	36	15.3	76	61	20
Buster Posey	1093	3.68	33	9.8	40	77	114
Joe Mauer	921	4.05	33	3.1	21	38	14

Sources: Baseball-Reference and Fan Graphs.

Post Script

Yadier Molina was named special assistant to John Mozeliak, the St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, in the Winter Baseball Meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. Molina’s 19 seasons with St. Louis trail Stan Musial’s 22. Molina and Adam Wainwright were battery mates for an MLB record of 328 starts! Wainwright retired with 200 career wins. It is unlikely that no other Cardinal will eclipse Molina’s 13 post-seasons with St. Louis, 104 post-season games, or 102 hits. Molina also managed the 2022-23 Magallanes Navigators, in Venezuela, before managing Team Puerto Rico, 2023 WBC, and Caguas, during the 2023-24 winter season.

In mid-October 2020, Molina became the sole owner of the Bayamón Cowboys basketball franchise, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league, under Puerto Rico’s Basketball Federation. The league’s maiden season was in 1930. Bayamón won their 16^th title in 2022, the most in league history, and were 2023 runners-up. The author followed the Santurce Crabbers hoop team in, the 1960s and 1970s. John Candelaria played forward for the Quebradillas Pirates (early 1970s) and guard Butch Lee starred for the 1976 Río Piedras Cardinals and scored 36 points for Puerto Rico in their 94-93 loss to Team USA in, the 1976 Olympics. Red Holzman coached the 1964-66 Ponce Lions to three straight titles, pre-New York Knicks NBA titles in 1970 and 1973. Phil Jackson coached the 1987-89 Isabela Bantams, before leading the Chicago Bulls to six titles and Los Angeles Lakers to five crowns. Bobby Knight coached Team USA to the Gold in the 1979 Pan Am Games, hosted by San Juan when Puerto Rico got Silver.

The author’s mother, Paula S. Van Hyning, was born in St. Paul, Minnesota—Joe Mauer’s hometown—and is interred with her husband (Sam J. Van Hyning Jr.) at the National Military Cemetery, Hato Tejas sector, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Yadier Molina’s municipality of birth.

Special thanks to Chris Bodig and Ted Simmons. Jorge Colón Delgado did the editing and photo placements.