St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina leads Team Puerto Rico in WBC Debut

St. Louis Cardinals catcher, Yadier Mlina, made his debut for Team Puerto Rico Friday night in the World Baseball Classic against Team Venezuela.

St. Louis Cardinals star catcher Yadier Molina kicked off his WBC Pool play with Team Puerto Rico in emphatic style with a rout over Team Venezuela, 11-0. As impressive as the win was against a very solid Venezuelan lineup, Yadier Molina showed millions around the world what we St. Louis Cardinals fans already know.

Molina had an impressive first game with Team Puerto Rico on Friday night. He caught all seven innings, thanks to the ten run rule, and had himself a night at the plate as well. On the night, Molina managed to go 2-4, with a 2-R HR, 2 RBI, and 2 Runs. His two run home run blew the game open in the sixth inning.

Let’s take a look at his night behind the plate and at the dish. Shout out to @simulacrumusial for the gifs on this article!

Game Calling Master

About a month ago, I wrote about what Molina’s presence was going to do for Team Puerto Rico in the WBC. Much like the St. Louis Cardinals, Team Puerto Rico relies heavily on Molina’s defensive wizardry and game calling to lead the way.

Chad Thornburg of MLB.com wrote about Molina’s presence on the field and was able to catch up with Friday’s starter, Seth Lugo, and Team Puerto Rico’s manager, Edwin Rodriguez, about what Molina means to the pitching staff.

"“I didn’t have to worry about my game plan. Just stick with Molina and trust what he’s calling, and it made it that much easier. A couple times he worked on my mechanics and fixed up on that while I was out there, we’ve got to slow down, not make it too nasty, just trust it and throw where my target is. It just gives you a big boost of confidence.” -Seth Lugo"

When I went back and watched the game, there were a couple of moments in the game that stood out to me. With two outs and a guy on first, Lugo faced Carlos Gonzalez. Molina started off Gonzalez with two fastballs on the inside part of the plate for strikes. Already having established the inside part of the plate, Molina called for another fastball inside, which Gonzalez fouled off.

Lugo’s fourth pitch was a hanging curve ball that Molina wanted down and away. Lugo’s pitch missed for a ball. Molina immediately went to the mound. I imagine Lugo’s quote recalls this very moment in-game.

However, this is something Cardinal fans see all the time. Molina working with his pitcher in-game to get the out.

Not only did Molina go out and talk to the pitcher, but once he returned behind the plate, he signaled to first baseman Tj Rivera to play closer on the line. The very next pitch to Carlos Gonzalez? The same curve ball Molina wanted on the previous pitch. The result? A ground ball right to Tj Rivera.

Fast forward to the sixth inning. Venezuela has the bases loaded with Carlos Gonzalez once again at bat. With lefty Geovanny Soto on the mound, Molina went right to work. The first pitch was, again, an inside fastball. Gonzalez fouled it off to the side. The second pitch was another fastball inside for a ball. The third pitch was another fastball on the inside part of the plate, resulting in another foul ball.

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This time there was no mound visit. Molina set up his next pitch target. He wanted the slider low and away from Carlos Gonzalez.

The slider, which was the most important pitch in the ball game, found its target and got Carlos Gonzalez to strike out to end the threat (poor Carlos).

Let’s take a look at Molina’s pitch selection in both at bats.

Pitch 1: Fastball, inside

Pitch 2: Fastball, inside

Pitch 3: Fastball, inside

Pitch 4: Slider or Curve, low and away (K)

It’s Molina’s ability to out think hitters and set them up during the at bats that makes him one of, if not, the best catcher in the modern era. His manager, Edwin Rodriguez, echoed the same sentiment in Chad Thornburg’s article.

"“Yadi Molina, he has always been a determining factor. He’s been the master of pitches, and then with a lineup with Venezuela, which are people established in the big leagues, that gives us a chance to look at videos, look at information, having Yadier Molina or Jose Molina as a coach who has faced them in countless occasions, and that helps us establish our working plan.” -Edwin Rodriguez"

Although the score of the game doesn’t seem very indicative of a good team, Team Venezuela is packed with MLB players. We are talking about Jose Altuve, Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Gonzalez, Victor Martinez, and Salvador Perez.

Molina kept the Venezuelan lineup off balance all night and truly called a remarkable game behind the plate.

Molina’s Offense Paces Puerto Rico

As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, Molina had himself a day at the plate for Team Puerto Rico. His performance at the plate is welcoming for St. Louis Cardinals fans who doubt whether Molina has something left in the tank.

In my Team Puerto Rico article, i also mention Molina would probably bat fifth in the lineup. Sure enough, that’s where Molina found himself, sandwiched between Carlos Beltran and Javier Baez.

In his first at bat, Molina struck out against Felix Hernandez. Yes, that same King Felix Hernandez. Molina battled to bring the count to 3-2, but was beat with a hand-tying fastball on the inside part of the plate.

His second at bat came with the base loaded in the bottom of the third inning. In typical Molina fashion, he hacked at a first pitch fastball over the outer half of the plate and sent it down the line foul. He then took a curve ball for a ball to get to a 1-1 count.

The very next pitch Molina saw was a hanging curve ball over the middle of the plate. He drilled it to straight away center, but, unfortunately, straight away center is 415 feet away. Molina missed a grand slam by about three or four feet and had he been playing at Busch, it’s a no doubter.

Although it was an out, he put a great swing on the pitch and nearly put Team Puerto Rico up by six. However, the best was yet to come for Molina as he came to bat in the 6th inning of the game.

In his third at bat, with Team Puerto Rico up 3-0, Molina took the opportunity to bust this game wide open. With former St. Louis Cardinals, Carlos Beltran, on first base, Molina deposited a 3-1 fast ball over the outer half of the plate over the right center field wall.

St. Louis Cardinals fans are used to seeing Molina use the opposite field to his advantage, but with power? Molina was able to extend his hands to the ball and as that old saying goes, “hit it where it’s pitch,” Molina did just that. It was Molina’s first home run in WBC play.

By the way, think the Venezuelan pitcher, Jhoulys Chacin, knew this was gone the moment Molina made contact? #YadiBomb

Molina was able to follow-up his two run blast with a single and a run scored for Puerto Rico en route to a game ending five run 7th inning. The single came of a fastball over the middle of the plate. Molina took the pitch into left field advancing Carlos Beltran to second base. He later scored on Eddie Rosario’s double into right capping off a memorable night for the St. Louis Cardinals catcher.

Next: Carls Martinez Debuts in the WBC

In Puerto Rico and to many Latin American fans, Molina is known as “El Lider” or the leader. There is no question that Yadier Molina is the leader of Team Puerto Rico. Last month I said that he was the single biggest reason for Team Puerto Rico’s success. If Friday is any sign of what kind of season the St. Louis Cardinals catcher is going to have, then we are in for one heck of year from Yadier Molina.