José Molina (baseball)

Infobox MLB player


width = 150px
name=José Molina
position=Catcher
team=New York Yankees
number=26
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1975|6|3
birthplace=city-state|Bayamón|Puerto Rico
debutdate=September 6
debutyear=1999
debutteam=Chicago Cubs
statyear=2008 season
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.237
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=19
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=125
stat4label=On-base plus slugging
stat4value=.615
teams=
*Chicago Cubs (by|1999)
*Anaheim Angels/Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (by|2001-by|2007)
*New York Yankees (by|2007-present)

José Benjamin Molina Matta (born June 3, 1975 in city-state|Bayamón|Puerto Rico) is a Major League Baseball catcher for the New York Yankees.

At 6' 2" and weighing 245 pounds, Molina is taller than his older brother Bengie Molina, who now plays for the San Francisco Giants, and their younger brother Yadier Molina, also a catcher, who plays for the St. Louis Cardinals. They are the only three brothers in MLB history to all win World Series championship rings. Bengie and Jose did it together as members of the mlby|2002 Anaheim Angels, and Yadier with the mlby|2006 Cardinals. Molina was also part of baseball history on September 21, mlby|2008, when he became the last player ever to hit a home run at the original Yankee Stadium.

Molina graduated from Masetro Ladi High School in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico in 1993, and attended Ladislao Martinez University in Puerto Rico.

Baseball career

Chicago Cubs (1999-2001)

Molina was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 14th round of the by|1993 amateur draft. Molina's first major league team was the Cubs, for which he played 10 games in mlby|1999.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2001-07)

He joined the then-Anaheim Angels in mlby|2001 as a free agent, but played only a handful of games before establishing himself during the 2002 season as the Angels backup catcher for his brother, Bengie.

In mlby|2005, Molina hit a career-best six home runs, and tied his career-high with 25 RBI, as he hit .306 against lefties.

Following Bengie's departure from the Angels, José Molina entered the 2006 season as the Angels' new starting catcher, though it was expected that rookie Jeff Mathis would also see substantial time handling the team's catching duties over the course of the season. Mathis struggled during the first month of the season, however, and was demoted to the minor leagues. Molina himself then struggled offensively, and the promising offensive performance of Mathis' replacement on the roster, rookie Mike Napoli, once again relegated Molina to the role of backup catcher. Still, Molina played in a career-high 78 games and had a career-best 225 at-bats in 2006.

New York Yankees (2007-present)

On July 21, mlby|2007, Molina was traded to the New York Yankees for minor league pitcher Jeff Kennard. At the time of the trade, he had a .237 lifetime batting average, but had hit lefties much better (.269). He would go on to hit .318 for the Yankees with 1 home run.

On December 3, 2007, the Yankees signed Molina to a two-year deal. [ [http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2007/11/16/2007-11-16_mariano_rivera_holding_out_for_fourth_ye-2.html Mariano Rivera holding out for fourth year ] ] He served as the team's starting catcher following a shoulder injury to Jorge Posada, but returned to the backup role when the Yankees acquired Iván Rodríguez.

On September 21, 2008, Molina hit the last home run of the old Yankee Stadium during the Yankees' final game at the ballpark against the Baltimore Orioles.

Defense

In the minors, Molina was rated as the best defensive catcher in the Pacific Coast League by "Baseball America" in 2002. In his years with the Cubs and Angels, Molina displayed better than average range as a catcher, and also played 9 games at first base. In mlby|2004, he threw out 22 of 45 base stealers (48.89%), tops in the AL (minimum of 40 attempts). He also led AL catchers with five pickoffs in 2004, despite only 57 starts. In 2005, he caught more than half of those who attempted to steal against him, again the best percentage in the AL. [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=molinjo01]

References

External links

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