The Cardinals catcher, who has been named to five consecutive All-Star games, already has two World Series rings to his credit, and he’ll be looking to add a third this week against a Red Sox team that knows just how good he really is.
“Professional, a true professional,” David Ross said of his catching counterpart on Monday, according to ESPN.com. “Probably the best catcher I’ve ever seen. From an outsider’s perspective, seems to be a leader, he’s in the MVP race every year. He’s one of the faces of the franchise. You can tell how much he and his manager [Mike Matheny] communicate. They talk. His manager, being an ex-catcher himself and a really good one, you can tell they have a really good relationship.
“To me, he’s a pro’s pro. Goes about his business, doesn’t show anybody up, roots for his teammates. You can tell he’s teaching as well as competing. He’s the example of what a true professional catcher should be.”
Molina, who’s spent his entire career in St. Louis, has been arguably the best catcher in baseball this season. The 31-year-old set career highs in doubles (44), RBIs (80) and batting average (.319), while also throwing out 43 percent of would-be base stealers from behind the plate.
That arm will be tested against the Red Sox, who were successful on 123 of 147 of stolen-base attempts during the regular season (87 percent) and 11 of 13 in the playoffs.