In their 5-0 win over Houston on Wednesday night, the St. Louis Cardinals reached a team milestone for the first time.
Third baseman David Freese and catcher Yadier Molina each hit their 20th home runs of 2012. This is the first time in history the team has five players with 20 or more homers in one season. Carlos Beltran (29), Matt Holliday (27) and Allen Craig (21) had reached that figure earlier. (Further details here.)
Over time, the Cardinals haven’t been known as a home run-hitting franchise, Mark McGwire being a notable exception. While this current feat is an admirable measure of balance, it isn’t unusual for a number of other MLB clubs.
According to researcher Tom Orf, across MLB history, five different teams had seven players with 20 home runs or more. 13 clubs had six hitters with at least 20 long balls. With their current total of five, the 2012 Cardinals joined 66 other teams in MLB annals that accomplished it before them.
To me, the most notable member of the Cardinals current longball five is Molina, who is beginning to receive notice in discussions about the National League Most Valuable Player. On Wednesday night, he became the first Cardinals catcher to hit 20 or more home runs in a season since Ted Simmons had 21 in 1980.
In fact, Molina is now tied with Simba for third on the single-season home run list by a Cardinals catcher. With one more, he will tie for second. While Molina would need a whopping six more in St. Louis’ final 13 games to gain a share of the top, his feat is still most admirable.
Home runs as a catcher, St. Louis Cardinals, season, team history
| Player | Year | HR |
| Ted Simmons | 1979 | 26 |
| Ted Simmons | 1977 | 21 |
| Ted Simmons | 1980 | 20 |
| Yadier Molina | 2012 | 20 |
| Ted Simmons | 1978 | 18 |
| Ted Simmons | 1974 | 17 |
| Ted Simmons | 1975 | 16 |
| Ted Simmons | 1972 | 15 |
| Darrell Porter | 1983 | 15 |
| Yadier Molina | 2011 | 14 |
| Ted Simmons | 1973 | 13 |
| Gene Oliver | 1962 | 13 |
| Tim McCarver | 1967 | 13 |
| Eddie Ainsmith | 1922 | 13 |
| Hal Smith | 1959 | 13 |
| Tom Pagnozzi | 1996 | 13 |
| Todd Zeile | 1990 | 12 |
| Del Rice | 1947 | 12 |
| Bill DeLancey | 1934 | 12 |
| Carl Sawatski | 1962 | 12 |
| Darrell Porter | 1982 | 12 |
| Tim McCarver | 1966 | 12 |
| Joe Torre | 1970 | 11 |
| Del Rice | 1952 | 11 |
| Darrell Porter | 1984 | 11 |
| Tim McCarver | 1965 | 11 |
| Walker Cooper | 1944 | 11 |
| Darrell Porter | 1985 | 10 |
| Tony Pena | 1988 | 10 |
(Note that the above table does not include home runs hit that season while playing at other positions.)
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Molina is getting more notice for MVP, but he is still behind Posey, Braun, and McCutcheon.
McCutcheon’s performance has dropped off and his team is sinking fast. His August was terrible and his September numbers are better but still not significantly better than Molina’s. Braun has great numbers and his team is surging, but I wonder if his PED issues will haunt him. Posey clearly is the front runner, but I get a little annoyed at all the “best catcher in the NL” labels he gets. He’s the best offensive player who just happens to be a catcher, that is all. He might as well play another position, because it isn’t his catching abilities that stand out. They are pretty average. I know defense is weighted much lower when MVP voting comes around, but in my opinion it shouldn’t be, especially for one with the defensive caliber of Molina who stands out head and shoulders above the rest. But, it is what it is, and Molina would have to have a surge in his offensive numbers in the last two weeks to have any shot of overtaking Posey.
There were also some negatives about the Giants encouraging ballot-stuffing for the All-Star Game.
Do you really think that is going to be an issue?
No, not an issue for the voters, but there could be an immeasurable halo effect from all the focus. Along the lines of so such thing as bad publicity…
I would value a great defensive catcher over a great defensive anything else. Offense is important, but you only get 4-5 at bats a game. The catcher has a bigger role in many, many more at-bats on the defensive side.
So if you’re evaluating two catchers for the MVP, I would think the defensive aspect has to play a bigger role than if you were evaluating two OFs. But I obviously don’t get asked to vote on it, and am probably a bit partial. I did name my dog Yadi to be completely honest.
If you really respected Yadi, you would have given your child that name, not your dog!
Molina has always been able to make contact. He does not whiff easily.
His evolution into excellent hitter has taken time. He has taken a major leap forward during 2011 and 2012, his 8th and 9th seasons in the Show. His worst season as a hitter was his 3rd, 2006, when his OPS was beneath 600, beneath the Izturis line. Now it is near 900. Baseball entails learning and ML players can improve their hitting through the years. Molina is one of the clearest examples of hitting improvement.