- 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 theNew York Yankees .At 6' 2" and weighing 245 pounds, Molina is taller than his older brother
Bengie Molina , who now plays for theSan Francisco Giants , and their younger brotherYadier Molina , also a catcher, who plays for theSt. Louis Cardinals . They are the only three brothers in MLB history to all winWorld Series championship rings. Bengie and Jose did it together as members of the mlby|2002Anaheim Angels , and Yadier with the mlby|2006 Cardinals. Molina was also part of baseball history onSeptember 21 , mlby|2008, when he became the last player ever to hit ahome run at the originalYankee Stadium .Molina graduated from Masetro Ladi High School in
Vega Alta, Puerto Rico in1993 , and attended Ladislao Martinez University inPuerto 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, rookieMike 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 225at-bat s in 2006.New York Yankees (2007-present)
On
July 21 , mlby|2007, Molina was traded to the New York Yankees for minor leaguepitcher 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 toJorge Posada , but returned to the backup role when the Yankees acquiredIván 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 theBaltimore 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 atfirst 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 fivepickoff s 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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