ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina became the 34th catcher in Major League Baseball history to collect at least 1,500 career hits with a fourth-inning single in Saturday's 3-0 Cardinals win over the Brewers.
Molina singled to center off Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson to reach the milestone and received a standing ovation. He tipped his helmet to the crowd as he stood on first base after his only hit of the day.
While he'll remember the moment, it doesn't carry too much weight in his mind.
"Right now, it doesn't mean anything for me," Molina said. "All it means is that we got the win today and [Adam Wainwright] pitched a great game and we played good defense today. Obviously 1,500 is a lot of hits, but I've got to keep going."
Molina is the second catcher to reach the mark in a Cardinals uniform. Ted Simmons collected 1,704 hits in St. Louis from 1968-80. Earlier this season, he broke Simmons' franchise record for innings caught, but still trails Simmons by 71 home runs and 271 RBIs for first among catchers in club history
"I think where he is in his career and the things he's been able to achieve, every one means a lot to him, because he's a student of the game and he understands that that's not very common," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "There are not a lot of catchers who can say they've been able to do that."
The Cardinals' fourth-round pick in the 2000 Draft has has logged 1,540 career games. He has won eight consecutive National League Gold Glove Awards and has four NL Platinum Glove Awards to his credit.
"He's done so many great things," Wainwright said. "Fifteen-hundred hits would be [time to] throw a parade for a lot of people."
The seven-time NL All-Star collected two hits Friday night and one Wednesday as he inched closer to the 1,500-hit threshold. He began the season with 1,430 hits.
"He's been one of the greatest Cardinals ever, and he's been a treat for me to throw to every five days," Wainwright said. "We were excited for Yadier. That's a good mark for any big league player, 1,500 hits, and now we're trying to get him to 2,000."