Baseball never ceases to surprise us.
Just when you thought you had seen it all, the St. Louis Cardinals granted permission to catcher Yadier Molina to go away for the weekend for “business reasons.”
He is rejoined the Cardinals on Monday, but the reason of his absence was something you probably hadn’t heard before.
He was away from the club for a couple of days because the basketball team he owns in his native Puerto Rico was playing for the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) championship.
That’s…weird.
In any case, if he talked it over with the Cardinals’ brass, manager, and coaches; and they granted the permission, there shouldn’t be any major issues.
The timing, however, is a bit odd considering the Cardinals are in the middle of a race for the postseason.
Yadier Molina spoke with media, asked about his decision to leave #stlcards, leave teammates to be with basketball team, he says he had a responsibility to team as owner, its history, and “important to the people” of hometown. Says he thinks his Cardinals teammates understand.
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) August 22, 2022
The Cardinals Certainly Didn’t Miss Molina One Bit
Yes, they have a five-game advantage over the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central standings, and are currently on a seven-game winning streak.
But the division race is not over, so it’s certainly odd timing.
Evidently, Molina’s absence didn’t affect the Cardinals too much, as they are, much like it happened last year, enjoying an impressive post All-Star break winning streak.
The catcher is playing his final games as a major leaguer.
He is not having the best season overall, hitting .222 with 12 runs, two homers, 12 RBI, a steal, and a .526 OPS.
If someone has earned the right to be absent for a couple of days during the season to attend personal matters, it’s Molina, who has given the Cards two World Series championships and lots of competitive innings behind the plate.
The team probably considers the issue closed by now.
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