Why doesn't Yadier Molina get the respect he deserves as the best catcher in the league.

Question

I understand he wasn't the best hitter, but now he is consistently over .300 and throws out a high number of runners(when they decide to run) he got screwed for his gold glove 2007and in 2006. as you can tell i am a big time Cards fan/homer.

Answer 1

he's the best defensive catcher in the league. you forgot a word in there.

and yes, being able to hit .300 is great, but it certainly doen't put him in the same sentence, or even paragraph for that matter, offensively as joe mauer, russel martin, victor martinez, brian mcann, geovany soto and ryan doumit. id rather have any of them at the plate than yadier. yadier's offensive numbers compare with a.j. pierzynski and dioner navarro- hardly the best catchers in the league.

Answer 2

Yeah,  he's got a cannon

Answer 3

I think it's because of his hitting before this year. Plus, he is still not in his prime, he will be recognized soon. He is being the best right now at getting runners out.  But once he is consistently hitting over .300, then he might. Still the best catcher is Ivan Rodriguez even when he is past his prime.

Answer 4

First off, you can exclude Joe Mauer from this discussion because the question is why Molina isn't considered the best catcher in his league. Last time I looked St. Louis was in the NL and Mauer's Minnesota Twins were in the AL.

Secondly, Molina isn't recognized as the best because he doesn't play like it. Sure, he's a decent defensive catcher and he's got his average up around .300, but he's not a power-hitter nor does he score or drive in a lot of runs.

The top catchers in the NL--McCann, Martin, and Soto--are all stronger offensively and all are better defensively than Molina. Soto is currently the top defensive catcher in the NL (.995 fielding percentage) while McCann is tied for 2nd (.994) and Martin is 6th (.989). Molina is 7th with a .986 fielding percentage and more errors in fewer chances than Soto or McCann.

You could actually make a stronger argument for Bengie Molina being a top catcher than his brother. Molina is young and can still improve but right now he's not even in the Top 5.

Answer 5

yah for all of those who say that mauer or soto or russell martin are better than yadier molina dont know what all goes into being a catcher.  And I would like them to watch the game between the cards and the fish last night and then tell me that he isnt the best catcher in the league, RIGHT NOW.  Not only did he burn two guys on the basepaths, one that was crucial in the 9th inning to keep the cardinals on top, he also hit a clutch two run homer.  The pitch he threw the runner out on in the ninth was a terrible pitch and the runner was over halfway to the bag before yadi let go of the ball, and he threw an absolute dart to get him.  everyone was in disbelief at what he did.  He consistently keeps runners glued to first base for fear that they will get picked off, and until yesterday, I havent seen a team run on him in weeks.  He is that feared.  And it used to be that anything he did on offense was a bonus, but now he has been batting over .300 for a few months now, and since he went under alberts wing he is hitting the ball with authority, to all fields, and has been a doubles machine as of late.  He is definitely a top 3 all around catcher in the league, with the sky being the limit, but there is no doubt that he is the best defensive catcher in the league.  Russell Martin won a gold glove and then he lead the league in errors.....all b/c he had good offensive stats the year before.  

Answer 6

if you dont think that yadier molina is the best catcher in the league, whether it be hitting or defense, you dont know enough about baseball.  The only catcher hitting better is Mauer, and his defense sucks.  Yadier beats out any catcher in the majors.  

Answer 7

He is by far the best in the majors as a catcher.  Before this year, its because nobody notices position players who dont hit well, and he didnt.  I even read in an article that the gold glove usually went to players who had higher averages batting rather than fielding.  He deserved a gold glove the last two years, by a wide margin he is the best defensive catcher.  This year, he is leading all catchers in batting average besides Mauer (who's defense doesnt even compare to Yadi's), and is (besides pujols maybe) the most clutch batter on the cardinals, and is still the best defensively.  And to those who say catchers arent as important as others, your stupid.  The catcher effects the pitcher more than you can imagine.  How do you think the cardinals starters have been so successful this year?  They are all putting up better stats than they ever have.  Its imparative for a pitcher to know he can throw a pitch in the dirt with a runner at third and KNOW he will come up with it.  So hopefully after this year he will get the much deserved respect.

Lets not forget that Yadier not getting into the allstar game was a joke.  He was hitting .310 at the time, and Soto was at .270

Answer 8

He isn't the best catcher in the league and teams try to get the best players than can.  

Answer 9

Because there are other catcher's out there who have performed better, plus he plays for the Cardinals, nuff said.

Answer 10

Becaus he's not. His older brother Benji Molina is much more talented than he is and Benji still isn't the best catcher in the league right now. In my opinion, the best catcher in the league right now is Russell Martin from the LA Dodgers....and I'm a SF Giants fan so that's saying alot.

http://www.love2wager.com

Answer 11

what about russel martin

Answer 12

Yadier Molina the best cather in the league? Excuse me but Russell Martin and Joe Mauer are in a completley different league then Yadier Molina.  

Answer 13

Are You kidding me hAVE YOU EVER THAUGHT ABOUT RUSSEL mARTIN jOE mAUR dEANO nEVARO bRIAN MCANN YADIER DINT EVN MAKE THE ALLSTAR TEAM VOTED BY THE FANS HE IS NOT GOOD HE BATS 7 OR 8 IN THE LINEUP HE STINKS

Answer 14

Because Russell Martin and  Mauer are more complete playes and paly a bigger role in their teams

Answer 15

Because he is not the best catcher in the league.

Answer 16

He isn't the best catcher in the league.  In general players are not going to be recognized as great unless their outstanding hitters save for Omar Vizquel, Ozzie Smith. Yadier is no where close to that level defensively albeit he is fantastic. In addition he is a catcher, so being a great fielder is not going to make him stand out at a normally overlooked position.

Finally, he isn't the best catcher in the MLB.