ST. LOUIS -- Having caught Sunday in Pittsburgh, Tuesday in St. Louis and again Wednesday when he and Adam Wainwright set some history with their 325th career start, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina would have typically used Thursday as an off-day for his 40-year-old knees.

However, Molina didn’t want this Thursday off. With it being Roberto Clemente Day across MLB, the catcher of Puerto Rican descent went to Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol and insisted that he be in the lineup so that he could don Clemente’s famed No. 21 against the rival Reds. As one of the Cardinals former winners of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, Molina joined teammates Albert Pujols and Wainwright in wearing Clemente’s famed No. 21. All-Star Paul Goldschmidt, the Cardinals' 2022 Roberto Clemente Award nominee and a seven-time finalist for the award, also donned Clemente’s No. 21 on Thursday.

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Marmol said just a short chat with Molina -- a native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico -- revealed to him the high regard Clemente is still held among the Puerto Rican community. In addition to being the 1966 NL MVP, a 15-time All-Star and the first player from Latin America inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Clemente was famous for his charitable efforts to those in need.

“I was able to bring in Yadi and ask him, ‘What does it mean to you?’ He described how to everybody in Puerto Rico, Roberto Clemente Day is a really, really big deal,” said Marmol, who granted Molina’s wish to be in the starting lineup Thursday. “It’s one thing to acknowledge the accomplishments on the field, but what [Clemente] did off the field was amazing.

“What comes to mind is that he identified with the underdog and people in need,” Marmol said. “You can be in this industry so long that you get disconnected from that. You have everything you need, and you can isolate yourself because of the notoriety and the hassle of it being an event everywhere you go. For [Clemente] to not only give back, but to have the heart for it, embrace it, having the passion for it and identifying with it, I have so much respect for that.”

Cincinnati’s nominee for the Clemente Award, Joey Votto, is out for the remainder of the season after having surgery to correct a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder. Still, despite not being with the team at Busch Stadium for Thursday’s celebration, it would be impossible to separate the identity and character of the Reds from Votto, and likewise disentangle Votto from the spirit of giving and community service which was so embodied by Clemente.

“It’s pretty well known that Joey does a lot of good things for people and for the community,” Reds manager David Bell said. “But I don’t think unless you’re really around him and close to him that you really know the extent of that, because I think he does a lot that people don’t even know about.

“That’s an important player to have on your team, setting that example.”

That example was set for two Reds rookies by Clemente himself. Relievers Fernando Cruz {from Bayamon} and Alexis Díaz {from Humacao} were born and raised in Puerto Rico, and each said that for as long as they could remember, the late Clemente was a towering figure in their lives. Neither knew before arriving at the ballpark Thursday that they would be given the honor of wearing No. 21 in Thursday’s game; both said the honor was one they would remember as a highlight of their careers.

“Having the honor and privilege to wear [No. 21] on a day like this, it’s something that’s going to go to my grandkids,” Cruz said. “They’re going to know about this. It means a lot. He died serving the world. He taught Puerto Rico how high he was on serving, on giving back to the community. And about the game, he was so passionate that I grew up listening about the passion he had for the game.”

Through team Spanish interpreter Jorge Merlos, Díaz added this: “For anybody who’s grown up in Puerto Rico, everyone has known about Roberto Clemente. We’ve learned so much about him through the years, about what he’s done.

“It’s just an honor to still continue in his path, doing the same things that he’s done.”

The Cardinals have the most Roberto Clemente Award winners in all of baseball. In addition to Pujols, Wainwright and Molina winning the award, Carlos Beltrán (2013), Ozzie Smith (1995) and Lou Brock (1975) are also former Clemente Award winners while playing for the Cardinals.