Bengie Molina #1

Molina begins his first season with the Cardinals serving as assistant hitting coach. This is his first coaching job since concluding an 11-year Major League career following the 2010 season. He posted a .274 career batting mark with 144 HRs and 711 RBI. Molina spent most of his career with the Anaheim Angels, after signing in 1993 as a non-drafted free-agent. He made his Major League debut in 1998 with Anheim and in his two best seasons for the Angels, 2000 and 2003, he had almost identical numbers: hitting .281, 14 home runs and 71 RBI in each season. He signed as a free agent with Toronto in 2006, hitting 19 home runs and batting .284. He signed with the San Francisco Giants in 2007 and again hit 19 home runs and then in 2009 he smacked a career-high 20 home runs. Molina won a World Championship with the Anaheim Angels in 2002, playing in all seven World Series games while hitting .286. He also had the unique experience in 2010 of beginning the season wtih San Francisco before a mid-season trade to Texas, the two eventual World Series teams. Molina was a Gold Glove recipient in both 2002 and 2003. Molina is the older brother of Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and Tampa Bay Rays catcher Jose Molina. The trio's father, Benjamin, Sr., was inducted into Puerto Rico Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame as a second baseman on October 27, 2002, the same day as Game 7 of the 2002 World Series in which Bengie started. A native of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, Molina, 38, resides in Yuma, Ariz., with his wife, Jamie, and daughter, Jayda (3). He has two other daughters, Kyshly (18) and Kelssy (14).

2009

Batted .265 (130-for-491) with 25 2Bs, 20 HRs and 80 RBI in 132 games for San Francisco...his 20 home runs set career high and ranked 2nd on team behind Pablo Sandoval (25)...among NL leaders was 1st in sacrifice flies (11), tied for 1st in game-winning RBI (22) and tied for 8th in go-ahead RBI (28)...hit .309 (72-for-233) at home, but just .225 (58-for-258) on road...of his 20 home runs, 10 of them either tied score or gave Giants lead...struggled somewhat with runners in scoring position, hitting just .260 (40-for-154), including .189 mark (14-for-74) with RISP and 2 outs...swung at 1st pitch 39.4% of time, 5th-highest pct. in National League...also put 25.9% of his pitches in play, 3rd-highest figure in majors behind Yuniesky Betancourt (26.3%) and A.J. Pierzynski (26.0%)...posted 2nd-lowest on-base pct. of any player in majors with .285 pct. which was also 2nd-lowest of his career (.274 in 2002)...Yuniesky Betancourt of Kansas City posted lower mark with .274 pct...Molina drew just 13 walks (3 IBB) in 520 plate appearances...started 120 games, all at catcher, and posted .995 fielding pct. (5e, 1,024tc) for 3rd-best mark among NL backstops...only Cincinnait's Ryan Hanigan (.998) and Philadelphia's Carlos Ruiz (.996) had better figures than Molina...threw out 23 of 85 (27.1%) of attempted base stealers...his 23 caught stealings were tied with Chicago's-NL Geovany Soto for 2nd-most in NL...Los Angeles'-NL Russell Martin paced circuit with 25...posted 4th-lowest catcher ERA (3.75)...logged 5th-most innings of any NL catcher (1,042.0) and ranked 2nd with 942 putouts...had 4 passed balls and 1 catcher pickoff...Giants went 64-59 in his starts...batted in cleanup spot for majority of season, appearing in 117 games in that slot and batting .266 (123-for-462)...was moved to 5th hole in order later in season and went 6-for-24 (.250) in 8 games...was on an Opening Day roster for 10th time in his career and was San Francisco's Opening Day backstop for 3rd-straight season, marking 1st Giants catcher to start 3-straight openers since Kirt Manwaring started 5-straight from 1992-96...homered and went 2-for-5 on Opening Day April 7 vs. Milwaukee...drove in 4 runs and had pair of 2B's in just his 3rd game of year April 9 vs. Milwaukee...drove in game-winning run with walkoff ground rule 2B scoring Andres Torres in 10th inning of San Francisco's 1-0 victory vs. San Diego on April 22...was only Giant that was among nominees for National League Player of Week honors for 3rd week of season (period ending April 26)...batted .474 (9-for-19) with 3 runs, 3 2Bs, HR, 4 RBI, .474 on-base pct. and .789 slugging pct...went 3-for-5 with 3B, HR and 4 RBI April 29 vs. Los Angeles-NL...marked 2nd time in his career to have 3B and HR in same game (also Aug. 17, 2006 at TB)...finished month of April with .329 avg. (25-for-76), 4 HRs and 18 RBI in 20 games...his 18 RBI were 8th-most in NL during month...hit pair of home runs and drove in another 4 RBI May 7 at Colorado...both clouts came off Jason Marquis, whom he was 0-for-12 lifetime against prior to those 2 home runs...according to Elias, that was Molina's largest 0-for against any pitcher he had ever faced in majors...drove in 8 of SF's 17 runs on 6-game road trip to Chicago-NL, Colorado and Los Angeles-NL May 4-10...drew his 1st walk of year May 12 vs. Washington...free pass came in his 120th plate appearance of season, which snapped longest active streak without walk in majors...drove in 30 RBI through his 1st 36 games, recording at least 1 RBI in 17 contests...was tied for 4th in NL with 30 RBI during that span, however did not record an RBI in his next 10 games and had just 2 in 16 contests from May 19-June 6...after hitting .329 in April, batted just .200 (21-for-105) in May...had 9 multi-hit games in month of June, while hitting .279 (24-for-86) to raise his avg. from .254 to .262...drove in San Francisco's lone run July 1 at St. Louis with sacrifice fly in 8th inning of SF's 2-1 defeat in 10 frames...went 3-for-5 with 2 RBI Aug. 4 at Houston...drew pair of walks Aug. 12 vs. Los Angeles-NL and 4 games later drew another pair of walks Aug. 18 at Cincinnati for what was just his 15th multi-walk game of his career...missed 8 games from Aug. 25 to Sept. 4 due to tight right quad...had 3 pinch-hit appearances in that 8-game span, going 1-for-3, including pinch-hit, 2-out, 2-strike, 3-run home run Aug. 26 in 8th inning off Arizona closer Chad Qualls, turning Giants' 3-1 deficit into 4-3 victory...marked Molina's 3rd career pinch-hit home run and 1st since 2007...hit game-winning home run Sept. 5 at Milwaukee off Todd Coffey...was moved from cleanup spot in lineup Sept. 14...marked his 1st time not in number 4 hole since Sept. 26, 2007 (span of 267 games)...left game Sept. 24 in 5th inning with contusion on his fingers on his left hand after getting drilled by foul tip off bat of Chicago's-NL Ryan Dempster...missed 3 games Sept. 25-28...belted 2-run home run Sept. 29 off Arizona's Doug Davis, marking his 5th career homer off Davis, his highest career total off any pitcher...finished game 4-for-5 with 2 HRs and 4 RBI...

2008

Eleven-year veteran compiled one of his best seasons, setting career highs in hits, 2Bs and RBI...overall, batted .292 (155-for-530) with 46 runs, 33 2Bs, 16 HRs and 95 RBI in 145 Molina San francisco Giants 2009 | 161 games in his 2nd season with San Francisco...established career-high for RBI, surpassing previous best of 81, set in 2007...became 11th Giant to lead club in RBI in consecutive years during SF-era (last: Pedro Feliz, 2005- 06)...had 91 RBI as catcher, marking 2nd-highest total by SF backstop behind Dick Dietz, who collected 104 in 1970...led all NL catchers in RBI, while ranking 4th with .296 avg. (153- for-517) and 1st with 153 hits...also ranked among NL backstops in ERA (9th - 4.30, 540er, 1128.1ip), attempted base stealers thrown out (2nd - 32) and pct. of runners caught stealing (T2nd - 32.0%)...had ML-high 18 games with 3 or more hits as catcher (16 - 3 hit, 2 - 4 hit)...earned "Willie Mac" award (honor voted on by teammates, coaches and fans as most inspirational player on club), becoming just 2nd Giant to earn honor in consecutive years and 3rd Giant to win award multiple times since it's inception in 1980...Mike Krukow was Willie Mac winner in 1985 and 1986, while J.T. Snow won it in 1997 and 2004...had 11 sacrifice flies on season, tied with Minnesota's Joe Mauer and New York's-NL David Wright for most in Majors...started 133 games (132 at C and 1 as DH) and hit safely in 92 of 145 contests overall...posted .335 avg. (55-for-164) in 7th inning or later, 5th-highest clip in NL...in fact, 37 of his 95 RBI (38.9%) came in 7th inning or later in '08...had All-Star caliber 1st Half, leading club with 56 RBI while ranking 3rd with .287 avg., 3rd for hits (90), tying for 4th in HRs (6) and 5th for 2Bs (21)...established personal best for RBI prior to All-Star Break and had 2nd-most RBI as catcher before Break in SF history...only Dick Dietz had more with 75 in 1970...slugged 1st career "walk-off" HR April 8 vs. San Diego, solo shot in 11th inning (off RHP Cla Meredith) to give SF 3-2 victory...was his 2nd homer of game (4th career multi-HR contest), as his blast in 2nd inning (off Randy Wolf) gave Giants 1-0 lead...tallied 1,000th hit of his ML career with single to center field in 2nd inning June 2 off NYM's Claudio Vargas...collected season-high 10-game hitting streak May 17-28, hitting .590 (23-for-39) with 2 HRs and 16 RBI during stretch... was named NL Player of Week for May 19-25, as he hit .652 (15-for-23) with 6 2Bs, HR, 9 RBI, .654 OBP and 1.043 slugging pct...included was combined 6-for-7 effort with 4 2Bs, 5 RBI and 2 run in doubleheader May 25 at Florida...struggled somewhat in middle months of season, hitting just .200 (26-for-130) from June 10-July 26, dropping season avg. 51 points from .333 to .282... hammered pair of HRs July 22 vs. Washington, marking 2nd 2-HR game of year and 5th of his career...drove in game-winning run with sacrifice fly in bottom of 9th inning Aug. 20 vs. Florida, marking his 2nd walk-off RBI of year...was 3rd walk-off win for Giants in Aug., marking 1st time that SF had 3 walk-off wins in calendar month since May 2004...matched career-high with 5 RBI Aug. 24 vs. San Diego, finishing 3-for-4 with 2B and HR (3-run shot off Mike Adams)...was 1st Giant to be involved with replay Sept. 26 vs. Los Angeles at AT&T Park, as HR to right field was originally called single by umpires, but call was reversed by Crew Chief Tim Welke after seeing highlight on instant replay...however, was not credited with run scored as he was pinch ran for by Emmanuel Burriss before call was reversed...batted .352 (32-for-91) with 5 HRs and 16 RBI in 25 games in Sept. for 12th-highest clip among NL players in season's final month.

2007

Was arguably club's MVP during 1st season with Giants, excelling with glove, with bat and in clubhouse...was named "Willie Mac" Award winner, honor voted on by teammates, coaches and fans as most inspirational player on club...established career high with 81 RBI, while matching career standard with 19 HRs...78 RBI as catcher marked 2nd-highest single-season total by SF backstop, surpassed only by Dick Dietz's 104 RBI in 1970...ranked 5th among NL catchers in batting avg. (.275, 135-for-491 at position), while finishing 3rd in RBI, tied for 10th in 2Bs (19) and tied for 2nd in HRs (18)...SF's best clutch performer batted .338 (26-for-77) with RISP and 2 outs, while logging .315 (47-for-149) overall RISP mark...registered 5th-best catchers' ERA in NL, guiding Giants pitchers to 4.11 mark (504er, 1104.0ip)...did so while setting career highs for games (134), games behind plate (129) and innings caught...enjoyed historic night May 6 vs. Mets, homering twice in 5th inning (off Oliver Perez and Lino Urdaneta)...became 1st Giant to club 2 HRs in same inning since Hall of Famer Willie McCovey accomplished feat June 27, 1977 at Cincinnati (6th)...was only 6th occurrence in Giants annals, joining Hack Wilson (July 1, 1925), Hank Leiber (Aug. 24, 1935), Sid Gordon (July 31, 1949) and McCovey (also April 12, 1973)...also became just 3rd catcher in big league history to homer twice in same inning, joining Philadelphia's Andy Seminick (June 2, 1949) and Montreal's John Boccabella (July 6, 1973) (courtesy: Elias Sports Bureau)...matched career high with 5 RBI (2nd time) in contest...also hammered pair of clouts Sept. 10 vs. Arizona (both off Livan Hernandez), for his 3rd career 2-homer game.

2006

Was impressive during lone season in Toronto, batting .284 with career-high 19 HRs and 57 RBI in 117 games...finished 4th among AL catchers in HRs and 9th in RBI, while his roundtripper total was most by Blue Jays backstop since Darrin Fletcher set franchise record with 20 in 2000...blistered left-handed pitching to tune of .358 avg. (53-for-148) with 10 HRs...logged career high 17-game hitting streak May 23-June 20...hammered 3rd career grand slam Aug. 27 vs. Kansas City, going deep off Royals' Odalis Perez...matched career high for 11th time with 4 hits Sept. 3 at Boston...in fact, hit .333 (24-for-72) with 5 HRs in 20 Sept. games.

2005

Put together outstanding campaign during final season with Angels, batting career-best .295 with 15 HRs and 69 RBI...batting avg. ranked 2nd among all big league catchers, behind only CLE's Victor Martinez (.305)...led AL by hitting robust .393 (48-for-122) off left-handed pitching...made 6th Opening Day start behind plate for Angels, matching Bob Boone for 2ndmost in club history (Buck Rodgers established mark with 7)...landed on Disabled List April 18-May 12 with strained right quadriceps...celebrated 31st birthday July 20 by matching career high with 4 hits...both he and brother Jose hammered HRs July 31 at Yankee Stadium off Randy Johnson, becoming just 8th pair of siblings on same team to go deep in same game (1st since Jason and Jeremy Giambi did so for Oakland Aug. 11, 2001)...hit at .359 clip (14- for-39) over his final 10 games as Halos cemented AL West title...carried Angels to ALDS victory over Yankees, going 8-for-18 (.444) with 3 HRs and 5 RBI...however, slumped to .118 mark (2-for- 17) in ALCS loss to White Sox.

2004

Hit .276 with 10 HRs and 54 RBI...was one of Angels' top clutch players, batting .320 (31-for-97) with RISP...7 of his 10 HRs either tied game or gave Halos lead...saw limited action during Spring Training due to tightness in hamstrings, and missed 1st 7 games of campaign due to strained left hamstring...logged pair of stints on DL, as he was shelved June 4-19 with strained left calf and Aug. 1-17 with fractured right index finger...appeared in all 3 games of ALDS vs. Boston, but was just 1-for-6 (.167).

2003

Earned 2nd consecutive Gold Glove Award following stellar season behind plate...led AL by throwing out 44.4% of attempted base thieves (36-of-81)...logged .994 fielding pct., committing just 5 errors in 745 total chances...also enjoyed yet another outstanding offensive season, batting .281...established career high with 24 2Bs, while matching career standard with 71 RBI...hit robust .346 (37-for-147) with RISP, tops on club...was 1 of 5 AL players up for internet voting to determine final All-Star spot (BOS's Jason Varitek was winner)...missed final month of campaign after suffering injury Sept. 3 at Minnesota on final play of game...was involved in home plate collision with Twins' Dustan Mohr, fracturing distal ulna and distal radius above left wrist...underwent surgery, procedure performed by Hand and Wrist specialist Dr. Norman Zemel in Los Angeles.

2002

Was simply spectacular with catcher's mitt, capturing 1st career Gold Glove Award and breaking Ivan Rodriguez' 10-year stranglehold on hardware...established Angels' single-season franchise record for catcher with .999 fielding pct., as he was charged with just 1 error in 768 total chances...joined Bob Boone as only Halo receivers to capture Gold Glove Award...led all ML backstops by nailing 42.7% of attempted base-stealers (32-of-75)...became just 4th catcher in franchise history to make 4 consecutive Opening Day starts, joining Buck Rodgers, Boone and Lance Parrish...was tabbed as one of AL's best defensive catchers in Baseball America's annual "Tools of the Trade" issue...was on DL July 17-Aug. 1 with strained left hamstring...played in all 16 games during Angels' run to World Series championship...after not tripling since 2000, legged out 3-bagger during Game 4 of ALCS vs. Minnesota...had bevy of magical moments during Fall Classic...he and brother Jose became just 4th set of brothers to appear for same team in same game of World Series, and 1st since San Francisco's Felipe and Matty Alou in 1962...became 14th player ever to reach base safely 5 times in World Series game, going 2-for-2 with 3 walks in Game 3 victory at SF...doubled twice in decisive Game 7 victory, including RBI-2B that tied game 1-1 in bottom of 2nd inning.

2001

Completed 2nd full ML campaign, batting .262 with 6 HRs and 40 RBI...placed on DL May 5-June 26 with strained right hamstring...brother, Jose, was recalled from triple-A Salt Lake to replace him on roster...established Angels franchise record by collecting 9-straight hits Aug. 20-23...logged consecutive 4-hit games Aug. 22-23, becoming 1st Angel to do so since Tim Salmon in 1994...collected 1st career pinch HR Aug. 12 vs. Toronto, connecting off Blue Jays' Dan Plesac.

2000

Completed 1st full ML season in grand style, batting .281 with 20 2Bs, 14 HRs and 71 RBI...finished 4th in AL Rookie of Year ballotting...selected to Topps' Rookie All-Star Team...70 RBI as catcher marked most in Angels history at position (drove in 1 run as DH)...127 games caught were most by Angel since Lance Parrish toiled behind dish for 131 contests in 1990...14 HRs were most by Halo catcher since Parrish's 18 in 1991...posted .991 fielding pct., while nailing 32.7% of would-be base thieves (34-of-104)...was hardest player in AL to strikeout, fanning just once per 15.5 plate appearances...set franchise record for highest batting avg. in any single month (min. 75 at-bats), batting .461 (35-for-76) in May...collected only career multi-HR game May 12 vs. Texas...compiled careerhigh 14-game hitting streak May 12-June 2, stretch in which he hit .517 (30-for-58)...was member of MLB All-Star team that toured Japan over winter.

1999

Began year at triple-A Edmonton, batting .286 with 7 HRs and 41 RBI in 65 games...listed as Best Defensive Catcher and 11th-best prospect in Anaheim organization by Baseball America...was recalled by Angels Aug. 31, and hit .257 with HR and 10 RBI in 31 ML games...made 1st ML start behind plate Aug. 4 vs. Kansas City, going 3-for-4 with 2B and RBI...singled off Royals' Jay Witasick for 1st big league hit...connected for 1st ML HR Aug. 19 at White Sox (off Jim Parque)...suffered strained left hamstring Sept. 16 at KC and missed final 15 games of season.

1998

Split campaign between double-A Midland and triple-A Vancouver, while also earning pair of ML recalls...opened season at Vancouver, hitting .293 in 49 games...made ML debut Sept. 21 vs. Texas, entering game as defensive replacement at catcher.

1997

Divided season between single- A Lake Elsinore and Midland, combining to hit .302 (77-for-255) in 65 games.

1996

Logged full campaign at Midland, hitting .274 in 108 contests.

1995

Made trio of stops in Angels' chain, playing for Vancouver, double-A Cedar Rapids and Lake Elsinore.

1994

Hit .281 for Midwest League champion Cedar Rapids.

1993

Began professional career with Angels' affiliate in Arizona Rookie League.