Molina reclaims crown with ninth Gold Glove

ST. LOUIS -- Already one of the most decorated defenders at the catching position in Major League history, Yadier Molina added a ninth Gold Glove award to his collection on Sunday by beating out fellow National League finalists Manny Pina and Buster Posey.
This Gold Glove pushes Molina closer to catching royalty, as only Johnny Bench (10) and Ivan Rodriguez (13) won more at the catching position.
After winning the honor eight consecutive seasons from 2008-15, Molina was beat out by Posey ('16) and Tucker Barnhart ('17) before reclaiming the award at the age of 36. Molina ties Bob Gibson for the second-most Gold Glove awards in Cardinals history. Only Ozzie Smith, with 13, won more.
• 2018 Gold Glove winners | More awards
Though he was a top-three finisher among NL second basemen for the first time in his career, Kolten Wong fell short of joining Molina as a Gold Glove winner. Colorado's DJ LeMahieu beat him out in a vote that included two components -- voting by managers and coaches (75 percent) and the SABR Defensive Index (25 percent).
Wong edged LeMaheiu, 19-18, in total number of defensive runs saved (DRS), but LeMahieu logged 218 2/3 more innings at the position. LeMahieu, a three-time Gold Glove winner, also led all NL defenders in the SABR Defensive Index. Wong finished second in that ranking.
As for Molina, statistically, this did not rank among the best defensive seasons of his career. But even after missing a month while recovering from groin surgery, he ranked third among all NL catchers with 1,017 2/3 innings behind the plate. Only 27 stolen-base attempts were made against Molina, and he threw out 12 of those runners. Molina finished with a minus-1 DRS.

Congrats to Yadier Molina on winning his 9th career Rawlings Gold Glove Award! pic.twitter.com/2F50UtyrU4

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) November 5, 2018

As one of the NL's Gold Glove winners, Molina is now eligible for the Platinum Glove Award, which is given to the best defensive player in each league. The award was established in 2011, and Molina has won it four times.
Voting for this award is open at Rawlings.com and will continue until 9 p.m. CT on Thursday.