In recent weeks, there was a scuffle/misunderstanding in the Puerto Rican Baseball Federation that led to general manager Eduardo Perez to resign from his position ahead of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, organized by MLB.
Perez, as the GM, wanted to have the final say about the manager for team Puerto Rico in next year’s tournament.
But Jose Quiles, the president of the Federation, reportedly promised the managerial role to Yadier Molina.
Molina is, of course, one of the most highly-regarded players in the history of Puerto Rican baseball.
He has won two World Series, several Gold Gloves, and All-Star berths with the St. Louis Cardinals in a playing career that will end this season.
With Perez out of the picture as the GM after his resignation, the Federation has made it official:
“Yadier Molina has been named manager of Team Puerto Rico for the 2023 World Baseball Classic,” Fox Sports MLB tweeted.
Yadier Molina has been named manager of Team Puerto Rico for the 2023 World Baseball Classic 🇵🇷⚾️ pic.twitter.com/IKoMgeBmVm
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 29, 2022
An Inexperienced, But Savvy Manager
Molina will have his first experience as a manager this winter in Venezuela.
He will be the skipper of the Navengantes del Magallanes in the LVBP (Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional – Venezuela Professional Baseball League).
The idea is for him to get his feet wet on what it takes to be the manager of a team before taking over team Puerto Rico in March.
Puerto Rico has a lot of talent that could potentially be on the roster: Francisco Lindor, Edwin Diaz, Javier Baez, Eddie Rosario, Carlos Correa, Mychal Givens, Jose Berrios, Victor Caratini, Alexis Diaz, Kiké Hernandez, Jorge Lopez, Seth Lugo, Martin Maldonado, MJ Melendez, Jose Miranda, Emilio Pagan, Christian Vazquez, and more.
They could be candidates under Molina’s guidance.
He may not have managerial experience, but he sure knows a lot about baseball.
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