Cardinals catcher of the future shares awe for Yadier Molina with awesome tweet

Ivan Herrera is considered the St. Louis Cardinals heir apparent to Yadier Molina, who spent nearly two decades with the team's legendary backstop. The youngster is hoping this is the season he takes his rightful place.

Herrera worked with Molina for several seasons to develop the skills necessary to take over. It's no wonder one of Molina's most jaw-dropping statistics leaves the youngster in awe of the GOAT's abilities.

Molina played 18,294 innings as a catcher, while Joe Mauer and Buster Posey combined for 17,175 innings as a catcher. That's 1,119 more innings for Molina.

In the later years of his career, Molina did his offseason workout to prepare himself for a long championship season. That's something to aspire to, and seeing Herrera in awe of his mentor is excellent.

Does Ivan Herrera have a chance to reach Yadier Molina's heights?

Over the course of three seasons, Herrera has played 80 games as a catcher for the Cardinals. Having not completed a full season, the 24-year-old does have high hopes for more playing time in 2025.

Paul Goldschmidt left the Cardinals this offseason after signing a free-agent contract with the New York Yankees. Willson Contreras agreed to become the team's first baseman daily to stay healthy and be more available to the Cardinals. Since joining the Cardinals, Contreras has dealt with injury and communication issues with management and the pitching staff. While things ultimately worked out then, how things will work for the new first baseman remains a mystery.

With Contreras at first base, Herrera gets more playing time as a catcher. Pedro Pagés impressed manager Oli Marmol when Herrera and Contreras dealt with injuries. Pagés will be in the mix for playing time in Marmol's lineup.

Jim Crooks, a top prospect in the Cardinals organization, is a non-roster invitee to Spring Training. He will look to impress the Cardinals and make his way into consideration for the Cardinals Opening Day roster.

Herrera and Pagés, 26, have the opportunity to become the youngest catching tandem for the Cardinals in many years. Jamie Pogue, a major league coach working with the catching staff, said preparation is key to this season's catchers. He said it isn't about how you catch the ball or block one. It's about the little things.

"It’s more about how you show up to work, how you treat other people, how you make sure the pitcher is the most important person that day," Pogue told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Those things don’t change. How we are expected to lead."

Herrera appears to be heeding the instruction from Pogue and modeling himself after lessons learned from Molina. "You’ve got to be an example if you want to be a leader,” Herrera told the Post-Dispatch. “How you do that is with your preparation. You have to be ready every day, and that comes from all of the things you do in the offseason.”

These comments bode well for Herrera as Spring Training ramps up. It will be fun to watch him take on becoming the leader and catcher the Cardinals have been hoping to see him become.