Ever since he made his MLB debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004, Yadier Molina‘s main goal has been help his team complete 27 outs.
And he has been excellent at that: he is a master of the art of calling a game and he has an accurate throwing arm that earned respect around the league.
He is on his way out of the league after achieving just about everything a player can dream about: two championships, many individual accolades, and the respect of teams, players, and fans.
But he is not going out without breaking some records.
“Yadi stands alone at the top! 14,865 putouts as a catcher. The most all-time in MLB history,” the Cardinals Twitter account wrote.
Yadi stands alone at the top!
14,865 putouts as a catcher.
The most all-time in MLB history. pic.twitter.com/tvXlSRsy5y
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 14, 2022
Catchers Will Record The Most Putouts
The league’s official page defines a putout as follows: “A fielder is credited with a putout when he is the fielder who physically records the act of completing an out — whether it be by stepping on the base for a forceout, tagging a runner, catching a batted ball, or catching a third strike. A fielder can also receive a putout when he is the fielder deemed by the official scorer to be the closest to a runner called out for interference.”
The MLB site also notes that catchers are also credited with putouts by catching pitches that result in strikeouts, so naturally, they, and first basemen (who are also credited for catching throws on ground ball outs) will generate the highest putout outputs.
Molina is now MLB’s all-time leader in putouts: no one in the history of the game has more than him, and that’s saying something.
The soon-to-be 40-year-old backstop is making sure he goes out in style.
NEXT: Paul DeJong May No Longer Have A Spot In St. Louis