He is on an impressive list.
Most Cardinals fans are already aware, but it a feat that I think deserves repeating: on Sunday, August 1, Yadier Molina passed former teammate and future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols in hits by St. Louis Cardinals with career hit number 2074. His two-hit day puts him at 2075 hits currently.
Albert Pujols chimed in on Twitter to congratulate his friend and former teammate:
Congratulations to my little brother @Yadimolina04 for passing me on the @Cardinals all-time hit list.
Your hard work and dedication has paid off! Not only are you one of the premier hitters in baseball, but you are the greatest catcher in the game today and future HOFer. pic.twitter.com/SOIoUotufN— Albert Pujols (@PujolsFive) August 2, 2021
It is a pretty remarkable accomplishment by Molina, especially considering the people on the list with him and the fact that he is a catcher. The closest Cardinals catcher to Molina in hits is Ted Simmons at 1704 and then Tim McCarver at 1029. Among catchers all time Molina comes in at 13 in hits and it seems likely he will catch Gary Carter and possibly Brian Downing at 2092 and 2099 hits, respectively (he needs 17 more to catch (heh heh) Carter and 24 more for Downing) by the end of the season. Among Cardinals the only players ahead of him now are Hall of Famers Rogers Hornsby, Lou Brock, and Stan Musial. Molina is just 35 hits away from catching Hornsby’s 2110 hits (it seems pretty unlikely he will catch Brock at 2713 or Musial at 3630).
Molina is in good company on this list and, though people will probably disagree, it is tough to see him on a list like this, among players of this caliber, and argue he won’t make the Hall of Fame, especially considering everything else that is praised about him. Just another outstanding accomplishment in an outstanding career for Yadier Molina.
Yadier Molina passes Albert Pujols on Cardinals hits list | MLB.com
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