title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina's father also sought to accelerate him on the diamond. Following Yadier's suspension from a youth league about age 15, he anticipated the desistance would stagnate his development, so he searched for an alternative. Against the wishes of coaches, family members and friends, he scheduled Yadier for a workout with the Hatillo Tigres, an amateur league team. Molina made the team after a single workout and immediately became the starting catcher. The Tigres' first baseman, Luís Rosario, was the one who recommended him to the organization. The Tigres played in a league composed mainly of players 10 or more years older than Molina, well before he was eligible for the MLB draft.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Minnesota Twins scout Edwin Rodríguez followed and scrutinized Molina starting in high school. He observed that Molina's skills closely resembled that of both his older brothers—both accomplished major league catchers—and decided that his defense was "polished" enough to be considered more advanced than most high schoolers in the United States. However, Molina's hitting lagged behind his defense. The initial report on his skill set was "defensive catcher, great arm, weak bat"; his closest comparable hitter as catcher was one whom the Cardinals eventually placed at the top of their organizational ladder, his future manager, Mike Matheny.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Before he was drafted, Molina worked out for the Cincinnati Reds. He put on a spectacle at Riverfront Stadium with his arm and bat that grabbed the attention of executives, scouts, and prominent former Reds players, including Johnny Bench and Bob Boone. As Molina recalled, he left the session with the impression that Cincinnati intended to draft him. Undeterred by the universal reservations about his offensive ceiling, the St. Louis Cardinals instead took Molina in the fourth round of the 2000 MLB draft and signed him for $325,000.


title: Yadier Molina

text: The Cardinals invited Molina to major league spring training camp following his draft. Although described as "raw", the young catcher purposed with fascination to emulate Matheny. At one point in that extended spring training, instructor Dave Ricketts observed Molina from a golf cart during a game as he was still learning how to catch; he had been transitioning from third base. After allowing a passed ball through his legs with a runner on third base, Molina raced to the backstop to retrieve the ball. Still hoping to prevent the runner from scoring, he instead found Ricketts in the golf cart parked on top of home plate. Ricketts had a reputation for becoming upset when minor league catchers allowed balls to bounce between their legs; for this, he removed Molina from the game and drove him to the batting cage. There, Ricketts batted 150 to 200 ground balls, as Molina estimated, to improve the young catcher's ability to block pitches.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina began his professional career with the Johnson City Cardinals of the Rookie-level Appalachian League in 2001, playing 44 total games and batting .259. He advanced one level in each of four seasons in the minor leagues. Even without highly developed offensive skills, Molina proved difficult to strike out. Mainly a singles hitter who favored hitting the ball the other way, he batted .278 with 14 home runs and 133 runs batted in (RBIs) with 118 strikeouts in 1,044 at-bats in four minor league seasons. In his first three seasons, he threw out 111 base runners attempting to steal while allowing 133 stolen bases, for a caught-stealing percentage of 45%.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina's first chance in the Major Leagues came when the incumbent catcher, Matheny, went on the disabled list (DL) with a strained rib in the Cardinals' pennant-winning season of 2004. Molina made his Major League debut on June 3. One of his first game-winning hits occurred on August 7. He stroked a broken-bat single to shallow center field in the bottom of the ninth inning against the New York Mets. On the play, the center fielder, Mike Cameron started towards the outfield wall based on Molina's full swing, not immediately realizing that he had made only partial contact because of the broken bat. By the time Cameron charged the ball, it was too late; it fell in for a hit, and Jim Edmonds was able to score. Three weeks later, on August 29, the Cardinals were victorious over the Pittsburgh Pirates 6–4 thanks in part to two separate plays in which Molina tagged out the runner at home plate, including a collision with Ty Wigginton.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina appeared in 51 regular-season games and batted .267 with two home runs and 15 RBIs in 151 plate appearances. He made an immediate impact with his arm, throwing out more than 50% percent of would-be base-stealers (nine of 17). In the World Series against the Boston Red Sox, manager Tony La Russa elected to start Molina over Matheny in Game 4. The Red Sox swept the Cardinals and claimed the title that game, their first in 86 years. The following offseason, Matheny signed a three-year, $10.5-million contract with the San Francisco Giants, clearing the way for Molina to become the Cardinals' starting catcher.


title: Yadier Molina

text: In 2005, Molina struggled with injuries and saw a drop off in the offensive performance in his rookie season. He doubled and scored on David Eckstein's go-ahead single on his way to three hits in a June 12 defeat of the New York Yankees, 5–3. Molina returned from a 33-game absence on August 19 induced by a hairline fracture of his left fifth metacarpal bone from being hit by a pitch on July 7. Starting pitcher Chris Carpenter, attempting to extend a winning streak to ten games on an August 19 game versus the San Francisco Giants, found himself in a 4–0 deficit in the ninth inning. Capped by Molina's three-run home run, the Cardinals rallied and won 5–4 in the ninth. The next day, Molina's suicide squeeze bunt scored Mark Grudzielanek, tying the game and allowing the Cardinals to win 4–2. Those were just two wins of 100 as St. Louis made their way to another division title following 105 wins the season before.


title: Yadier Molina

text: In 114 games, Molina posted a .252 batting average with eight home runs and 49 RBIs with just 30 strikeouts in 421 plate appearances. Defensively, he registered career-highs of nine pickoffs and a caught-stealing percentage of 64 from throwing out 25 of 39 would-be base-stealers. According to Baseball-Reference.com, as of 2013, that percentage ranked as the 26th highest all-time season-single caught stealing percentage. Since 1957, only Mike LaValliere's 1993 figure of 72.7% was higher.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Before the 2006 season commenced, Molina participated in the inaugural World Baseball Classic (WBC) for Puerto Rico. After returning to the Cardinals, he changed his jersey number from 41 to 4. However, the regular season presented some of his greatest offensive challenges as he struggled through a career-worst .216 batting average in 461 regular-season plate appearances. It was a culmination of a decline over his first three seasons; Molina's on-base plus slugging percentages (OPS) registered at .684 in 2004, .654 in 2005 and .595 in 2006. The low batting average was due in part to a deflated batting average on balls in play (BABIP) of .226 (normal is around .300), a career low.


title: Yadier Molina

text: In a May 27 game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego with the Cardinals holding a 4–3 lead in the bottom of the ninth, Molina picked Brian Giles off first to end the game, the first pickoff to end a major league game in nearly four years. The Cardinals faced the Padres again in the National League Division Series (NLDS) playoff game in the playoffs, he again picked a Padre off at first, this time Mike Piazza, while bailing pitcher Jeff Suppan out of a jam. For the season, he caught 41% of all base-stealing attempts and picked off seven runners.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Even as his bat languished, Molina's defense was instrumental in propelling the Cardinals to the National League Central division crown in a season heavily marred by injuries for the team. However, the following playoffs marked a turning point in his career offensive output. He posted a .358 composite batting average, .424 on-base percentage (OBP), two home runs and eight RBIs in 16 games as the Cardinals reached the World Series. He batted .308 in the National League Division Series (NLDS), .348 in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) and .412 in the World Series.


title: Yadier Molina

text: One of Molina's landmark playoff performances came in Game 7 of the NLCS against the New York Mets, the final game of the series tied at three games each. Starting in the top of the ninth, he batted with a 1–1 score. In the sixth inning, Mets left fielder Endy Chávez had prevented the Cardinals from taking the lead when he leapt to catch Scott Rolen's near-miss home run over the left field fence. This time, however, Molina hit a two-run home run off Aaron Heilman over left field that was too high for Chávez to catch and gave the Cardinals a 3–1 edge.


title: Yadier Molina

text: In the bottom of the ninth, rookie pitcher Adam Wainwright – filling in as emergency closer – found himself in a two-out, bases-loaded situation against center fielder Carlos Beltrán, who had already homered three times in the NLCS. Molina called for a mound conference. Initially, he wanted a sinker from Wainwright but changed his mind because he suspected Wainwright would overthrow it and give Beltrán an easy pitch to hit. Molina made an unconventional choice by calling for a changeup to start the sequence against Beltrán. It was called for a strike. Had Beltrán successfully got a base hit, the scheme may have caused tension for the third-year catcher with La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan because throwing a first-pitch changeup ran contrary to Duncan's teaching. Molina then called for two curveballs. Beltrán fouled off the first, but Wainwright struck him out looking at a "bender that started up and away and bit hard to the low inside corner" for the final out of the game. The Cardinals' conquest of the NLCS gave them a return trip to the World Series after two years. They proceeded to defeat the Detroit Tigers in five games, giving Molina his first championship ring. His mask was turned in for display at the Baseball Hall of Fame.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Batting out of the number-five spot in the batting order for the first time in his career on Opening Day, 2007, Molina collected two hits. In a game against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 15, Molina picked Prince Fielder off first base as he leaned far off the bag, tipping off Molina and first baseman Albert Pujols to a hit and run the Brewers were planning. Four days later, Molina faced his brother Bengie for the first time in a game against the San Francisco Giants. It was also the first time they had seen each other in about three and one-half years.


title: Yadier Molina

text: From May 1 to 24, Molina strung together a then-career high 15-game hitting streak, during which he batted .373. It was the longest streak for a Cardinals catcher since Erik Pappas' 16-game streak in 1993. Molina was absent for most of the month of June due of a fractured left wrist. In the third inning of the May 29 game against Colorado, he took a foul tip off his wrist from Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe's bat. After missing 26 games, the Cardinals activated him from the disabled list on June 28.


title: Yadier Molina

text: The first multi-error game of Molina's career occurred July 13 against the Philadelphia Phillies on a catch and throw. In a span of 11 starts from August 2–16, he racked up four three-hit games. On August 16, he hit two home runs against the Brewers for his first career multi-homer game. Molina homered and stroked the go-ahead double in an August 22 defeat of Florida. One week later, he homered in back-to-back games against the Cincinnati Reds; he, Edmonds, and Rick Ankiel each drove in three runs in an 11–3 victory on September 2. On Yadier Molina Bobblehead Night September 19 versus Philadelphia, he stroked three hits including the game-winning single in the tenth inning.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina suffered a concussion in September and underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee. The knee surgery ended his season early on September 24. In Molina's final 50 games, he successfully collected 49 hits in 158 AB for a .310 AVG. Of his final 35 starts, 12 were multi-hit games. His .281 batting average after the All-Star break ranked fifth among NL catchers. He finished the season with a new career-best .275 batting average, six home runs, and 40 RBIs in 111 games. He threw out 50% (23 of 46) baserunners attempting to steal, the highest percentage in the majors. From 2005–07, he led all MLB with a 47% caught-stealing rate and 18 pick-offs.


title: Yadier Molina

text: On January 14, 2008, Molina and the Cardinals agreed to a four-year, $15.5 million deal with a club option for a fifth, cementing his position as their starting catcher. He reported to spring training having lost 15 pounds and in improved physical shape from rehabilitating following knee surgery. He started the season with an Opening Day home run and seven-game hitting streak. After a home plate collision with Eric Bruntlett on June 15 against the Philadelphia Phillies in the ninth inning, Molina sustained head and neck injuries and was removed from the field on a stretcher. There were no indications of a concussion. He held on to the ball to help the Cardinals win. He missed the next four games. To that point, Molina was batting .295 with three home runs and 24 RBIs. He also had thrown out 10 of 32 baserunners (31.3%) – well below his career average of 45% – but an Associated Press reporter attributed the decline to an inexperienced pitching staff.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina returned to the field against Boston at Fenway Park as the designated hitter. In that game, his solo home run provided the difference in a 5–4 Cardinals victory. It was also the first game of the first of two 13-game hitting streaks for the season. His first career start at first base, also against Boston, occurred two days later. During that streak, he collected 17 hits in 47 at-bats for a .362 batting average. The second hitting streak spanned from August 16 to September 2, where he successfully hit 19 times in 50 at bats for a .380 average. On September 2, he and Felipe López hit consecutive home runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks en route to an 8–2 victory.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Overall, Molina enjoyed a breakout offensive season, finishing with new career highs with a .304 batting average – his first over .300 – and in hits (135), OBP (.349), SLG (.392), runs (37) and RBIs (56). Of all catchers in franchise history with at least 450 PA in a season, he became just the second ever, after Simmons, to bat over .300; it was then the fourth-best season batting average; and, his 29 strikeouts were the fewest since Simmons fanned 20 times in 1976. Molina led the team and was sixth in the NL with a .340 batting average with runners in scoring position. For the season, he successfully caught 35% of opposing baserunners, still higher than the league average of 27%. He led all MLB with seven pickoffs. That November, Molina received his first Gold Glove Award, becoming the third Cardinal catcher ever to win the honor, after Tom Pagnozzi and Matheny.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Before the 2009 season commenced, Molina participated with Puerto Rico in his second WBC. When the event concluded, he returned to the Cardinals. In an April 16 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he reached base in all five of his plate appearances in a 12–7 victory. Starting pitcher Joel Piñeiro – struggling with his fastball command in previous starts – experimented with a sinker and shut out the New York Mets on June 24 with just two hits. Molina erased a Mets runner by throwing out Luis Castillo attempting to steal second base. Molina was batting .278 with five home runs and 25 RBIs through July 5, 2009. He was selected through fan vote to represent the Cardinals in the All-Star Game in St. Louis' Busch Stadium – his first All-Star Game. As the top vote-getter among NL catchers with 2,641,467 votes, Molina was named the NL's starting catcher. He caught eight innings and drove home a run.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Following the All-Star break on July 18, Molina's four hits and Albert Pujols' two home runs helped cap Chris Carpenter's 6–1 victory over the Diamondbacks, who pitched around nine runners on base in eight innings. On August 15, Molina picked off San Diego's Kevin Kouzmanoff at first on the way to a 7–4 victory, the 33rd of his career. At that point, Bill James Online rated that Molina saved his team fifteen total runs from pickoffs alone in his career.


title: Yadier Molina

text: A sore left knee sustained after taking a foul ball of his kneecap temporarily disabled Molina on September 26. He was back in action on October 1 against Cincinnati, although he was removed from that game due to a "tweaked" knee. He finished the season with a .293 batting average, six home runs, 54 RBIs, and a major league-leading 136 games caught, the highest franchise total since Ted Simmons' total in 1977. His strikeout rate of once every 13.9 PA was the second-lowest in the NL. While accumulating 39 mult-hit games, the Cardinals won 27 of them. He led the major leagues with eight pickoffs and was second in the NL in innings caught. He also won his second Gold Glove award after the season. "The Sporting News" announced that major league managers and coaches had selected Molina for the magazine's end-of-season All-Star award. For the first time in his career, Molina earned Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) consideration. He finished tied for 23rd with Miguel Tejada with one percent of the vote share.


title: Yadier Molina

text: On Opening Day, April 5, 2010, Molina connected for a grand slam, becoming just the third Cardinals player to hit an Opening Day grand slam, following Mark McGwire and Scott Rolen. On April 17, he caught all 20 innings of a game against the Mets. Molina turned in a productive April, driving in 15 runners, the most for a Cardinals catcher in the month of April since Ted Simmons drove in 20 in 1977. He also continued his productivity with the bases loaded that month, collecting four hits and 11 RBIs in five at bats.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Before the All-Star break, Molina batted just .223. However, he was voted to start his second consecutive game, and second overall, and played four innings. After the All-Star break, his hitting improved, as he stroked 63 hits in 200 at bats for .315 batting average. During a game against the Cincinnati Reds on August 10, as second baseman Brandon Phillips came to bat, he exchanged words with Molina that escalated to a bench-clearing confrontation, although no one was ejected. On September 17, he amassed a career-high five RBIs and career-tying four hits against San Diego, including two doubles. After an examination on his sore right knee on September 23, Molina was shut down for the rest of the season, missing 12 games.


title: Yadier Molina

text: The final batting results for Molina's 2010 season consisted of a .262 batting average, six home runs, and 62 RBIs. He ranked as the fourth toughest in the NL to strike out with 10.2 at bats per strikeout. He led all NL catchers in at-bats (465) and stolen bases (eight), and his 122 hits ranked second, just behind Brian McCann's 123. He was tops in the NL with 24 bases-loaded RBIs, collecting eight hits in 15 AB for a .533 batting average in those situations. He also was first in the Majors with a .455 batting average (10–22) on 0–2 counts. He led all MLB catchers in innings (1138.0), games started (130) and assists (79), and led the NL for the third time in caught-stealing percentage at 49%. On November 1, he won his fourth consecutive Fielding Bible Award as the sole catcher. In addition, Molina became the first player at any position to win the award unanimously with a perfect score of 100. Nine days later, he was awarded his third consecutive Gold Glove Award.


title: Yadier Molina

text: With increased offensive productivity in 2011, Molina continued to help anchor the middle of Cardinals lineup in addition to the pitching staff and defense. From May 15 to 18, he put together four consecutive multi-hit games. Selected to his third consecutive All-Star Game, he substituted for the starter, McCann, played four innings and doubled in his only at-bat. Molina hit safety in 14 consecutive games from July 21 to August 11, one fewer than his career high. From July 22–25, he homered in three consecutive games, the second time in his career he had done so.


title: Yadier Molina

text: On August 2, Molina was ejected from a game against the Milwaukee Brewers for arguing a called strike. He bumped umpire Rob Drake in the chest multiple times and appeared to spit upon him. Molina later apologized, stating that he did not intend to spit on the umpire and that he "was caught up in the moment. That's what happens when you're caught up in the race and trying to win. I didn't handle it the right way." He served a five-game suspension handed down by MLB for "making contact with umpire Rob Drake multiple times and spraying him with spit twice while arguing."


title: Yadier Molina

text: Although the Cardinals stayed competitive, they were, at best, on the fringes of making the playoffs through August. As of August 28, with a 70–64 record, they faced a -game deficit to the Braves for the wild card playoff berth with 28 left to play. Molina provided a spark to the offense in the close of the season, batting .342 in August and .341 in September. With his 30th double on September 21, he became the fourth catcher in Cardinals history to reach that milestone, following Simmons, Bob O'Farrell and Walker Cooper.


title: Yadier Molina

text: St. Louis won 20 of 28 games to finish the season, allowing them to tie the Braves for the wild card lead going into the final day. Molina caught Carpenter's 8–0 shutout of the Astros, the final game of the regular season. Meanwhile, the Philles defeated the Braves 4–3 in 13 innings, giving the Cardinals the wild card title and eliminating the Braves from the playoffs. The games-won deficit marked the largest lead surrendered with 28 left to play in MLB history, consummating what "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" sportswriter Bernie Miklasz termed an "improbable comeback," and one of the greatest sports history. It was just the first in a series of improbable comebacks for the Cardinals in 2011.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina compiled a .305 batting average, 32 doubles, 14 home runs and 65 RBIs during the 2011 regular season. His batting average led the Cardinals and was eighth in the NL. However, his posted a career-low 29% caught-stealing percentage. His OPS+ (126), batting average, and hit totals led NL catchers, doubles placed second and RBIs third. His .337 batting average following the All-Star Break tied for seventh in the NL. He also led all NL catchers with 12 three-hit games, and collated 39 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI games.


title: Yadier Molina

text: By making the playoffs, Molina became the first catcher in franchise history to appear in five postseasons for the Cardinals. He batted .333 in the NLCS against Milwaukee, including five hits in eight AB in the final two games. In Game 1 of the World Series against the Texas Rangers, Molina threw out Ian Kinsler attempting to steal in the first inning on the way to a 3–2 win. It was the Rangers' only attempted steal of the game. That caught stealing gave Molina five in seven total chances in the 2011 postseason to that point; the Rangers had been tied with the Cardinals for most steals in that postseason. For the series, the Rangers attempted to steal four bases and were successful just once. In Game 3, Molina accumulated four RBI, and two more each in Games 6 and 7.


title: Yadier Molina

text: The Cardinals won the Series in seven games, giving Molina his second championship ring. He batted .333 and set a team World Series record with nine RBIs. It was the highest World Series RBI total among catchers since Sandy Alomar Jr., drove in 10 in 1997. Molina started all 18 games and played every inning in that 2011 playoff run, including one at first. Overall, he batted .299 with five doubles and 12 RBIs. His 20 hits were the most by a catcher in the postseason since Iván Rodríguez stroked 21 in 2003. On November 1, Molina won his fourth consecutive Gold Glove Award, becoming just the fifth catcher on a pennant-winning club to lead his position in OPS+ in his league while winning a Gold Glove. He also won the first-ever National League Rawlings Platinum Glove Award, bestowed upon one player in each league. For the second time in his career, he won MVP consideration; he finished tied for 21st for the NL MVP balloting.


title: Yadier Molina

text: On March 1, 2012, Molina signed a five-year extension with the Cardinals worth $75 million through 2017. The contract included a $1 million signing bonus, no-trade clause, and a mutual option for 2018 worth another $15 million. The deal made him the second-highest-paid catcher in the majors. He collected his tenth career four-hit game against the Brewers on April 29 with a two-run home run that led the Cardinals to a 7–3 win. On May 1, Molina mounted the first of two two-stolen base games of the season; the other occurred August 3.


title: Yadier Molina

text: On May 27 against the Phillies, Molina blasted his third career grand slam against Roy Halladay. His made his 1,000th career appearance in an MLB game against the Chicago White Sox on June 12. From July 25 to August 7, he maintained a season-best 11-game hitting streak in which he batted .413. In a game against Pittsburgh at PNC Park on August 28, he sustained head, neck and back injuries – although no concussion – in a second-inning home plate collision with second baseman Josh Harrison. In August, he batted .403 with a .453 OBP, both tied for third in the NL. As the season progressed, he garnered widespread consideration for the National League MVP award. On September 4, Molina collected his 1,000th career hit, an infield single against the Mets at home in the second inning.


title: Yadier Molina

text: The 2012 season was one of Molina's crowning achievements as a hitter, especially considering early professional scouting reports did not forecast his bat being much of a factor in the major leagues. He set new career highs in multiple offensive categories, including a .315 batting average, 22 home runs, 76 RBI, 65 runs scored, .373 OBP, .501 slugging percentage and 12 stolen bases. He led the team in batting average for the second straight season, thus becoming the first catcher in franchise history to do so.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Panning Molina's performance National League-wide, he ranked fourth in batting average, tenth in on-base percentage, 14th in slugging percentage and tied for 18th with 46 multihit games. He led NL catchers in stolen bases and set a Cardinals single-season record for catchers, and ranked second among NL catchers in HR and third in RBIs and batting average. An aggressive hitter, he batted .380 with seven home runs on the first pitch; his home run total on first pitches ranked seventh in the NL. His 32 baserunners caught stealing topped MLB, 47.9 caught stealing percentage ranked second, and three pickoffs tied for first in the NL and were second in MLB.


title: Yadier Molina

text: From a historic perspective, Fangraphs' Dave Cameron noted that Molina's combination of offensive productivity and interception of base runners in 2012 was one of the rarest performances in history. He became just the ninth MLB catcher to post a season with a weighted runs created (WRC+) factor of 140 and 45 percent of runners caught stealing. At 143, his WRC+ was tied for eighth all-time among catchers with at 45% of base runners caught stealing. Further, those figures aligned with peak seasons of other catchers such as Johnny Bench, Elston Howard, Carlton Fisk, and Rick Wilkins.


title: Yadier Molina

text: After being the subject of much speculation for the MVP award throughout the season, Molina ultimately finished fourth. However, he did win the prestigious and oldest award given to Latino players: the LatinoMVP award given by Latino Sports and the Latino Sports Writers & Broadcasters Association (LSWBA). He and winner Buster Posey became the first pair of catchers to finish in the top four in the award's 88-year history. However, like in years past, other awards were on their way. In November, he won his fifth straight Gold Glove award, making him the first Cardinal since Jim Edmonds to win that many consecutively, which Edmonds did in 2004. On December 4, he won his first GIBBY Award for Defensive Player of the Year. The St. Louis chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) named him the St. Louis Baseball Man of the Year for 2012. In a "Los Angeles Times" report that published the top MLB jersey sales from the All-Star break until October 1, his jersey ranked 18th.


title: Yadier Molina

text: With increased profile coming in conjunction with his offensive breakout from the year before, Molina's popularity with fans around the game also increased. Following his 2012 fourth-place MVP finish, his 2013 in-season jersey sales rose to third place, just after Posey and retiring New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, according to a July 11 report. On June 2 he was ejected by 1st base umpire Clint Fagan for throwing his helmet. Molina collected two doubles in a three-hit game on June 12, giving him 21 doubles for the season, a pre-All-Star break career high. It was also the second-highest pre-All-Star break total in franchise history following Ted Simmons' 29 thirty-five years earlier. That three-hit game also gave Molina 78 for his career, tied for 43 on the all-time list for catchers.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Through July 15, Molina led the NL with a .341 (110 hits in 323 at-bats) batting average. In the final All-Star Game balloting, Molina (6,883,258 votes) edged out Posey (6,474,088) for the role of the NL's starting catcher in the game held at Citi Field in Queens, New York City. The Cardinals placed Molina on the 15-day disabled list on July 31 due to a right knee sprain. At the time he went on the DL, Molina was batting .330 with eight homers, thirty doubles, and 54 RBIs. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) indicated inflammation but no structural damage, so the knee was drained of excess fluid buildup and Molina was given a cortisone injection.


title: Yadier Molina

text: The knee injury impacted his batting average, contributing to a late-season slump. On September 16, Molina collected four hits with three runs scored to help the Cardinals to a 12–2 win over the Seattle Mariners and break an 0–15 slump, raising his batting average to .317. Eight days later, Molina was behind the plate to call rookie Michael Wacha's one-hit, 8 innings of shutout work in a 2–0 victory over the Washington Nationals. It was actually a no-hitter through that point until Ryan Zimmerman broke it up with a high-bouncing ground ball that glanced off Wacha's glove for the Nationals' only hit of the game.


title: Yadier Molina

text: For the year, Molina set new career highs in batting average (.319), doubles (44), runs scored (68), and RBIs (80). He also hit .373 with runners in scoring position (RISP) in a season in which the Cardinals set the all-team team record for batting average with RISP at .330. He finished fourth in the NL in batting average, second in doubles and sixth in batting average with RISP. His 44 doubles were the most in the Major Leagues among catchers since Iván Rodríguez' 47 in 1996.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina was also noted for his handling of the pitching staff. The Cardinals overcame losing key pitchers Chris Carpenter, Jason Motte, and Jaime García – among others – early in the season by substituting twelve rookie pitchers en route to winning a competitive NL Central division title over the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds (each team finished with at least 90 wins). A continuously evolving core exceeded expectations by filling in for 52 games started, 36 wins, and five saves and Molina was credited with their success in a large part due to his pitch-calling skills and aptness to guide. The rookies' 36 wins were the most in franchise history since 1941.


title: Yadier Molina

text: The Cardinals squared off against the Pirates in the NLDS. Two weeks removed from just missing a no-hitter, Wacha again nearly repeated the feat with Molina behind the plate in an elimination game, Game 4. Molina threw out pinch runner Josh Harrison attempting to steal second base in the eighth inning to help the Cardinals preserve a 2–1 lead. In the World Series against the Boston Red Sox, Molina became just the ninth player – and the first in the expansion era – in franchise history to appear in four World Series with the club, and the first since Stan Musial in the 1946 World Series, also against the Red Sox. Molina collected more awards following the season, including his first Silver Slugger Award, sixth Gold Glove, and a third-place finish in MVP voting. Molina was a co-winner, along with Wainwright and Matt Carpenter, for the BBWAA St. Louis Baseball Man of the Year.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Along with three other players each separately displayed, "Sports Illustrated" featured Molina on the cover of their March 31 issue complementing the 2014 MLB season preview article. On the 2014 Opening Day – the same day "Sports Illustrated" published the Molina cover edition – he stroked his second season-entry home run and the 90th of his career, accounting for the difference in a 1–0 defeat of the Reds in Cincinnati. It also secured the 100th win for batterymate Adam Wainwright. Molina added a single for two of the Cardinals' five hits.


title: Yadier Molina

text: With a one ball, two strike pitch from relief pitcher Randy Choate incoming to Cubs outfielder Nate Schierholtz in a May 4 game, the batter foul tipped the pitch. Instead of Molina being in a position to catch it cleanly with his glove, the ball hit the thigh. Molina instantly hunched over the ball, trapping it between the thigh and rib cage. He held on, qualifying it as a third strike.


title: Yadier Molina

text: With the All-Star Game nearing, Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy aired a satirical television commercial in the style of a political advertising campaign on June 17 to outgain Molina in the All-Star voting totals. The voice-over narrator posed the question, "Do you want another St. Louis Cardinals catcher to star in an All Star game? Isn’t there a better way? Cast a ballot for change. Cardinals fans need to know that enough is enough." At that point, Molina led the vote total for NL catchers with more than two million, while Posey was second at 1.4 million and Lucroy third with 1.1 million.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Some, including Matheny, took the message literally. However, Brad Weimer, the advertisement's creator, confirmed the humor was meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Molina stayed in the lead and won the vote as the starting catcher in the All-Star Game at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, his sixth consecutive appearance.


title: Yadier Molina

text: His season was interrupted on July 9 against the Pirates. While sliding past third base, he attempted to grab the bag to stay on. However, during the play, he injured his right thumb. An MRI revealed torn ligaments, requiring surgery and forcing him to miss the next eight to 12 weeks. Regarding the injury as having a significance impact on the Cardinals' season, "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" sportswriter Bernie Miklasz commented, "Losing the best catcher in the world for the next 8 to 12 weeks with a torn thumb ligament is a horrendous, demoralizing setback for the Cardinals. This could be a season-ending injury." At that point, he was batting .287 with a .341 OBP, .409 SLG, 16 doubles, seven homers, and 30 RBIs through 83 games. He also led MLB with a 49 caught-stealing percentage.


title: Yadier Molina

text: He returned from the DL ahead of schedule, about seven weeks and 40 games missed after the injury, and was activated August 29 before a series against the Cubs. However, he still had not fully recovered, as he batted .250 in September with a pronounced drop in power production. His 110 appearances were his fewest since his rookie season in 2004. He finished the season with a .282 batting average, seven HR, 38 RBIs, 21 doubles, a .333 OBP and .386 SLG, all lower totals than 2013, and many since 2010. Among players with at least 90 games played, Molina's 48% caught stealing and 3.20 catcher's ERA were both first in the major leagues.


title: Yadier Molina

text: During Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers, Wainwright hit Adrián González with a pitch, and both benches cleared. Umpire Jerry Meals attempted to get between González and Molina, but Molina briefly shoved Meals. MLB fined Molina $5,000 without suspending him. In Game 2 of the NLCS against the Giants, Molina collected his 89th career hit in the postseason, passing Pujols for the franchise record. However, he sustained his second significant injury of the season in that same game, straining his left abdominal oblique muscle during another at bat, due in part to compensation in his swing for lost power following his thumb injury earlier in the season.


title: Yadier Molina

text: After missing the next game, his string of 83 consecutive playoff games started was stopped, which was a major league record. The last playoff game he had not started was Game 3 of the 2004 World Series. On November 4, Molina was announced as winning his seventh consecutive Gold Glove, tying Boone as having won the third-most Gold Gloves among catchers. Further, only Bench and Rodríguez had won more consecutive (10 each) as catchers in major league history. He won the National League Platinum Glove award on November 8, his third time in the award's first four years.


title: Yadier Molina

text: With his 11th consecutive Opening Day start on April 5, 2015, against the Cubs, Molina became the first catcher in club history to achieve this feat. On May 10 against the Pirates, he was on the dubious end of a piece of MLB history: lining out into the first "4–5–4" triple play in MLB history. Second baseman Neil Walker caught his line drive with two runners on, then threw to third baseman Jung-ho Kang to double up Jhonny Peralta for the second out. Kang briefly pirouetted the ball in his hand, albeit confused, but threw back to Walker to tag Jason Heyward for the third out. Molina's first home run of the season and first in 95 games occurred against the Minnesota Twins on June 15; his previous home run dated back to June 27, 2014.


title: Yadier Molina

text: On July 7, he was selected to his seventh consecutive All-Star Game, played at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. In the Reds' clubhouse for the All-Star Game, Molina shared a locker with Reds' second baseman Brandon Phillips. Since the brawl between the Cardinals and Reds in 2010, the two mended their schism, and Molina has a photograph of their families together. When informed whose locker he was using, Molina replied, "This is Phillips' locker? How about that? I'll have to write something to him." While the pregame roster introductions were made, Reds fans booed all six Cardinals players who were selected, and even former Cardinal Albert Pujols. When Molina was introduced, he smiled and turned and pointed his thumbs toward the back of his jersey. Pujols provided levity when he then joined in the booing. After the game, Molina remarked to reporters, "when you spend 12 years coming to Cincinnati and you beat them so many times, they’re going to boo you." In his career to that point, he hit .319 with a .352 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage in 270 career at-bats at Great American Ball Park.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Hitting his first triple in more than four years and 2,000 at bats, with the bases loaded, Molina provided the decisive run in a 3–2 outcome against the Chicago White Sox on July 22. In the annual "Baseball America" Toolbox Awards, managers and coaches around the National League rated Molina as both the "Best hit and run artist" and "Best defensive catcher" in the NL. His 100th career home run was well-timed, becoming the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning at Busch Stadium on August 19 in a 4–3 win over San Francisco. After sustaining an injury to his left thumb during a September 20 game against the Cubs, an MRI revealed a partial ligament tear, preventing him from playing. Molina won his eighth consecutive Gold Glove Award and fourth Platinum Glove Award in 2015. In December, it was revealed that Molina had a second surgery on his left thumb, pushing his return to late in 2016 spring training. He was winner of the Darryl Kile Good Guy Award.


title: Yadier Molina

text: At age 33, Molina broke the Cardinals' all-time games caught record on April 8, 2016, in his 1,440th game, passing Ted Simmons (1968–80). His 1,343 games started since the beginning of the 2005 season was the highest total in the major leagues. He made his 1,500th career major league appearance on May 14 in a 5–3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. While playing the Washington Nationals in the seventh inning of a 2–1 loss at Nationals Park on May 26, Stephen Drew hit a high infield fly that stayed over the pitcher's mound. With both Aledmys Díaz and Mike Leake attempting to catch the ball, Molina posited himself and waited. As the ball deflected off Díaz' glove, he almost collided with Leake, but Molina instinctively moved his glove and caught the ball before it hit the ground. He recorded his 1,500th career hit on July 2 against Milwaukee, becoming the 34th catcher in MLB history, and second for the Cardinals, after Simmons.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina's ninth-inning, RBI double, tied the July 27 game against the New York Mets at 4−4, ending Jeurys Familia’s consecutive-saves streak of 52, the third-longest in major league history. His tenth-inning double against Milwaukee on August 30, his 30th of the season and 300th of his career, helped lead the Cardinals to a 2–1 victory. He caught a career-high 146 games. After starting with a .256 average through 85 games, Molina batted .365 from July 8 to the end of the season, and overall hit .307, eight home runs, 58 RBIs, and led all major league catchers with 164 hits and 38 doubles. His hit total was also a career-high, leading the club, and he was eighth in the league in batting and ninth in doubles.


title: Yadier Molina

text: During Spring Training before the 2017 season, and the final guaranteed year on Molina's contract, the Cardinals began to negotiate an extension to keep Molina in St. Louis for the remainder of his career. He agreed to a three-year contract extension for a reported $60 million, making him the highest-paid catcher in baseball. He was not interested in exercising his 2018 mutual option, which would have been worth $15 million. The extension assured Molina of remaining in St. Louis through 2020, and increases the chances that he will finish his career having played for just one organization, the one that drafted him. This distinction of having Molina retire as a Cardinal is something that carried weight for both parties throughout the negotiations.


title: Yadier Molina

text: On June 26, Molina became the ninth catcher all-time to record 11,000 career putouts at the position. For the eighth time in his career, he was an All-Star selection, as resulted in a vote by fellow players. He homered, making him the oldest catcher to hit a homer in an All-Star Game, in his age-34 season, and the first Cardinal to homer in an All-Star Game since Reggie Smith in 1974.


title: Yadier Molina

text: On August 9 against the Kansas City Royals, Molina came in with two outs and the bases loaded. After drawing a 1–0 count against Peter Moylan, a brief delay occurred when a stray kitten had made its way onto the outfield. On the very next pitch to Molina, he hit it 387 feet into the left field seats for a go-ahead grand slam. This was the fifth grand slam of his career, tying him with Tim McCarver for second-most career grand slams by a Cardinals catcher. This also proved to be the deciding hit in this game, as the Cardinals held up to win, 8–5.


title: Yadier Molina

text: On September 19, Molina tied Jim Bottomley (1922–1932) for 10th place in Cardinals history with 1,727 hits. Molina led the team in 2017 with 134 hits and 78 RBIs, and all NL catchers in both categories, entering play on that date. He broke the tie with Bottomley on September 20, with his 1,728th hit, and tied his own career-high RBI total for a season with 80, reached in 2013. He passed 80 on September 21, with his 81st and 82nd RBI. He was the 2017 recipient of the Missouri Athletic Club's Sports Personality of the Year Award.


title: Yadier Molina

text: In January 2018, Molina expressed his plan to retire following the 2020 season when his contract would expire. As batterymates, Wainwright and Molina had accumulated more starts together than any other in franchise history. He passed Bench for two milestones early in the season: for 13th place in major league history in innings caught with on April 14 while playing the Cincinnati Reds, and 16th in games caught versus with 1,743 on May 2 versus the Chicago White Sox. Molina doubled versus Cincinnati on April 22 to give him 338 for his career and tie Ozzie Smith for tenth place in Cardinals' history. On May 5, Molina exited the game after a foul tip struck him in the groin. The next day, on May 6, Molina underwent emergency surgery for a pelvic injury with traumatic hematoma.


title: Yadier Molina

text: The Cardinals activated Molina from the DL on June 5. On June 19, he set the major league record for most games caught with one team with 1,757, passing Gabby Hartnett who had previously held the record as a member of the Cubs. Molina homered twice in a loss to Philadelphia on June 20 for his fifth career multihomer game. He homered twice again on June 23 versus Milwaukee to fuel a 3–2 win, giving him five home runs over his previous six games.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Batting .279 with 13 home runs, Molina was named to the 2018 MLB All-Star Game to replace the injured Buster Posey. He finished his 2018 campaign batting .261 with twenty home runs and 74 RBIs in 123 games. He had the highest fielding percentage among major league catchers, at .998. He won his ninth Gold Glove.


title: Yadier Molina

text: On Opening Day 2019, versus the Brewers, Molina extended his team-record for Opening Day starts with 15. He made his first career appearance at third base in extra innings of a 6−5 win on April 1 versus the Pirates. The Cardinals were in need of infield depth with an injury to regular utility infielder Jedd Gyorko. He was placed on the injured list on May 31 with a thumb tendon strain.


title: Yadier Molina

text: For the 2019 season, Molina batted .270/.312/.399 with ten home runs and 57 RBIs over 113 games. He batted .143 in the NLCS and .167 in the NLDS. He had the slowest sprint speed of all National League players, at 22.8 feet/second. On October 9, Molina set the record for the most appearances by a National League player in post-season MLB play, at ninety-four games. He was nominated for a Gold Glove.


title: Yadier Molina

text: In 2020, Molina made his 16th consecutive Opening Day start. On August 4, it was announced that Molina had tested positive for COVID-19, and he was subsequently placed on the injured list. Molina would eventually recover from the disease. On September 24, against the Milwaukee Brewers, he singled to right-center field for his 2,000th career hit.


title: Yadier Molina

text: For the season, he batted a slash line of .262/.303/.359, with four home runs and 16 RBIs. He was the second-oldest player in the NL, and had the slowest sprint speed of all major league catchers, at 23.0 feet per second. On defense, he led all NL catchers in errors, with five.


title: Yadier Molina

text: In 2021, Molina returned temporarily to Puerto Rico to play in the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente to play as a reinforcement with the Atenienses de Manatí in the semifinals. However, his participation was shadowed by the poor performance of the team, resulting in a sweeping 4-0 series with the Indios de Mayagüez.


title: Yadier Molina

text: On February 8, 2021, the Cardinals announced that they had signed Molina to a one-year deal for a reported $9 million. In regards to the signing, Molina stated "this is my home" and "I'm happy to be back." On April 14, Molina caught his 2,000th game with the Cardinals, the most by a catcher on one team. On August 24, Molina signed a one-year extension worth $10 million and announced that 2022 would be his final season.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina finished the 2021 season batting .252/.297/.370 with 11 home runs and 66 RBIs over 121 games and again had the slowest sprint speed of all major league catchers, at 22.6 feet/second. He was nominated for a Gold Glove, making him one of six Cardinals to be nominated which led the major leagues.


title: Yadier Molina

text: On May 15, 2022, Molina and Adam Wainwright won their 203rd game as a starting battery, setting the MLB record. On May 22, Molina made his first career pitching performance as he closed an 18–4 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He gave up all four of the Pirates' runs on four hits and two home runs. His pitching debut came one week after that of teammate Albert Pujols, who also gave up four hits and two home runs in the ninth inning. On September 14, Wainwright and Molina set another MLB record by starting alongside one another for the 325th time, surpassing Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan of the Detroit Tigers for the most starts by a battery in MLB history. His last game was played on October 8, 2022 as the Cardinals were beaten 2–0 in the 2022 Wild Card Series by the Philadelphia Phillies. He went one for four and left two runners on base.


title: Yadier Molina

text: In 2022 he batted .214/.233/.302 in 262 at bats, and was the slowest player in major league baseball, with a sprint speed of 21.8 feet per second.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Four World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournaments have been held – 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2017 – and Molina has participated in all of them for the Puerto Rican team. He was fellow defensive standout Iván Rodríguez’s backup in 2006 and 2009 and the primary catcher for the 2013 and 2017 squads.


title: Yadier Molina

text: In his first classic in 2006, Molina played four games and collected three hits in five at-bats. In a 2009 tournament game against the Netherlands on March 9, Molina's eighth-inning double keyed a rally in which Puerto Rico won 3–1. Speaking the next day, Molina stated that the previous night's double had been a bigger thrill than his two-run homer to beat the Mets in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS.


title: Yadier Molina

text: With Molina as the starting catcher in 2013, Puerto Rico earned the silver medal. Edwin Rodríguez, who had scouted Molina in Puerto Rico before the Cardinals signed him, became the manager for the 2013 squad. Shortly after learning he would be the 2013 manager, Rodríguez contacted Molina for input on constructing the roster. Molina prepared for the Classic by playing 14 games for the winter league team in Puerto Rico Rodríguez managed. Molina was voted on the All-World Baseball Classic team for the first time.


title: Yadier Molina

text: In a 2013 semifinal game against Japan, Molina alertly took advantage of a baserunning mistake to record an unusual putout. With Shinnosuke Abe batting for Japan in the top of the eighth inning, and Hirokazu Ibata on second and Seiichi Uchikawa on first, J. C. Romero was pitching for Puerto Rico. Abe took a pitch from Romero inside for a ball as the runners went in motion. However, Ibata retreated to second as Uchikawa charged toward him. Instead of throwing and risking an error, Molina held on to the ball. He then chased Uchikawa, cornered him by positioning himself between first and second and tagged out Uchikawa – an unassisted caught stealing. The Japanese later stated they were attempting to exploit Romero's slow delivery.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Puerto Rico advanced the finals again in 2017, falling to the United States 8−0 in earning their second consecutive silver medal, and only loss of the tournament. Molina made a strong case to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the entire tournament, batting .333 with two home runs and a .583 slugging percentage in six games. After collecting three hits and a home run in eight at bats over two games in Pool F competition, he was named that group's MVP. In the semifinal game against the Netherlands, he picked two runners off base in one inning. He was named the catcher of 2017 All-World Baseball Classic team, his second All-WBC honor. Also, the coaching staff often allowed him to conduct the preparation meetings, took his advice on construction of the starting rotation, and when to remove tiring pitchers.


title: Yadier Molina

text: On September 10, 2018, he was selected to be part of the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series as a member of the MLB All-Stars team.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina's first experience managing was with Puerto Rico's U-23 baseball team, in both the qualifiers for and actual tournament of the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup. Puerto Rico dropped its first three games to the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and South Korea, preventing it from moving on in the tournament. However, Molina managed the team to four more victories in the group stage and consolation round.


title: Yadier Molina

text: In 2022, Molina announced that he would be managing the Navegantes del Magallanes in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, having been recruited by former major leaguer Pablo Sandoval. Molina said the opportunity could open the door to managing a team in MLB, saying that Navegantes was "something different, and I’d like to try it early and see how it goes. And then after, I can decide if I want to do it [in the United States]."


title: Yadier Molina

text: Also in 2022, Molina was announced as manager of the Puerto Rico national team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The appointment created some controversy in Puerto Rico after the resignation of team general manager Eduardo Pérez, who had reportedly sought to name Astros bench coach Joe Espada to the position.


title: Yadier Molina

text: The winner of eight consecutive Gold Gloves, Molina has been widely praised for his preparation, defense and leadership, not just of the pitching staff, but also of the entire team, even from Johnny Bench. Fellow catchers Jorge Posada and Brian McCann stated in 2009 that Molina was "the best defensive catcher in baseball"; Víctor Martínez also called him "the best behind the plate." In 2013, a scout pronounced Molina the "one piece the St. Louis Cardinals cannot lose" while another commented that he is "irreplaceable." When the club did lose Molina midway through the 2014 season to a thumb injury, ESPN's Keith Law tweeted, "Yadier Molina missing two-plus months would be bad for the Cardinals, but also just bad for baseball, period." In his time in the major leagues, Molina has been widely viewed as evolving into a competitive influence and an unofficial on-field coach.


title: Yadier Molina

text: As a part of his pre-game preparation, Molina meticulously studies and prepares for the upcoming game's opposing hitters by creating a complete pitching and defensive plan. Other preparation includes handling ground balls at shortstop and third base, extending his agility for blocking pitches thrown in the dirt. Former Cardinals starter Jake Westbrook said he was "a part of every aspect of the game: starters, relievers, offense, defense."


title: Yadier Molina

text: Advanced defensive metrics — known as sabermetrics — show he is a top defender among catchers in MLB history. Molina ranked second all-time among catchers at the end of the 2014 season on Baseball-Reference.com's career defensive runs saved (DRS) with 120, behind only Iván Rodríguez (167), and ahead of Jim Sundberg (114), Bob Boone (107) and Gary Carter (106), the only catchers with over 100 on the list. He was the season leader in the NL every year from 2005–14, except 2008 and 2011–12. Fangraphs tallied his career DRS at 106, with a career-high of 20 in 2010. The sabermetric stat defensive wins above replacement (DWAR) has also ranked Molina's defense highly; he has never had a full season with a negative DWAR, and he had a career-high 2.9 DWAR in 2010.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina is known for his in-game pitch-calling skills, and pitchers rarely reject signs that he shows for the next pitch. In 2013, Matheny said, "We tell all our young pitchers when they come up to pitch their game. Yadi needs to find out how they work. He's a quick study. But at the same time, they tend to just follow him. We do put them in Yadi's hands." Molina reads opposing hitters and will move fielders with subtle signs and gestures to align them with his pitch calling. La Russa said that "it's not just instinct. It's sense, based on how a hitter's standing, how he responds to the pitch or two before, and he's very creative in how he makes his adjustment based on what he sees with the hitter and knowing what his pitcher can do."


title: Yadier Molina

text: "Baseball Prospectus" estimated in 2013 that Molina saved 35 defensive runs per season through his pitch framing and had moved 301 out-of-zone pitches that were called strikes between April 1 and June 30, 2013.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina was among the best in the game at throwing out base runners with pickoffs and during steal attempts. As of July 2013, Molina had thrown out 45% of would-be base stealers. He studied base runners to learn how they decide when and whether to attempt a steal and when they were less guarded against a pickoff. He practiced pickoff moves and coordinates signals with the first basemen to indicate when he is primed to move for a pickoff throw. Molina threw from behind left-handed batters to obfuscate the runner's view of his motion to first base. In 2012, a "Sports Illustrated" poll of 306 players found that Molina was the "toughest catcher to run on." An Arizona Diamondbacks official said team policy was not to run on Molina.


title: Yadier Molina

text: As the publication "Viva El Birdos" wrote, "Yadier Molina broke into the majors as a light-hitting defensive specialist", who hit mostly singles. Molina pushed to shed the light-hitter label he had in common with his brothers. A fidgeter with his batting stance early in his career, Molina mimicked and vacillated between more accomplished hitters such as Andrés Galarraga and Albert Pujols. However, it was a dip in his swing and an inability to get around on fastballs that sapped his efforts. Over time, with assistance of teammates such as Pujols, Molina found his comfortable stance, sounder mechanics and adopted a line-drive style of swing that eliminated the dip and helped him hit fastballs with more authority.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Thus, he became a more consistent hitter as his career progressed, defying the scouting reports that he would have a weak bat. In combination with an improved his ability to pull the ball and hit it up the middle, he improved his batting average, batting .293 or higher in five of his last six seasons. His line-drive pull percentage of 2009–11 increased by about 6% in 2012–13; BABIP increased from .280 in 2005–10 to .327 in 2011–13 and pull weighted on-base average (wOBA) has increased from .290 in 2009 to over .520 in 2013. To keep his bat in the lineup but allow respite from the rigors of his in-game catching duties, Molina has occasionally started at first base.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Aside from swinging with increased line-drive contact and hitting fastballs with more authority, very little has actually changed in the catcher's approach. One trait that has always persisted is that Molina is an aggressive and free-swinging — but high-contact — hitter. Through 2012, he swung at more than 51% percent of the pitches he saw — he has a reputation for swinging at pitches in and out of the strike zone, low and away and even in toward his hands. Because of his free-swinging tendency, he naturally has a walk rate (7.1%) below the Major League average (8.4%). Combined with his ability to put the bat on the ball quite frequently (87%) and his improved approach at the plate, he increased his career-high single-season batting average five times between 2006 and 2013.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Despite batting just .238 in his first three seasons and .240 after 1,000 at-bats, Molina increased his average to .284 average after 3,983 at-bats (1,132 hits) as of 2013 due in part to having only one season lower than .293 from 2009–13. He hit into 27 double plays in 2009, but in 2012 reduced that figure to 10. Molina's home run and doubles rates also increased; from 2011–13, he hit 104 of his 226 career doubles.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina resides in Vega Alta and stayed in Caseyville, Illinois, during the baseball season until 2015. He then purchased a home in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Molina also owned a home in Jupiter, Florida, the home of the Cardinals spring training facilities, but sold it in 2020.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina married his wife Wanda Torres in 2007 and the couple have three children. On September 4, 2008, they had a son; on July 4, 2010, a daughter; and on February 6, 2016, another son. After signing his $75 million contract in 2012, Molina purchased a home on a four-acre property in Jupiter, Florida, for $7.15 million. His agent is Melvin Roman of MDR Sports Management, who has represented him since he signed his first professional contract with the Cardinals shortly after being drafted in 2000. Molina's charitable organization, named Foundation 4, has helped to raise donations for childhood cancer patients in Puerto Rico. Molina is an avid fan of the St. Louis Blues, and attends games frequently. He is close friends with Vladimir Tarasenko.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Molina's two older brothers, Bengie and José Molina, played a combined 28 seasons in the major leagues. Each of the three brothers has won at least one World Series ring, making them the only trio of brothers with such a distinction (Bengie and José both won their first while with the Anaheim Angels in 2002). They are also the only trio of brothers to play as catchers in the major leagues. Of a total of nineteen trios of brothers who have played in the Major Leagues – including the DiMaggios and the Cruzes – only one other trio of brothers has all appeared in a World Series: Matty, Félipe and Jesús Alou.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Even while the Molina brothers still lived in the United States playing professional baseball, their parents stayed in the same home near the park where the brothers grew up playing ball, Jesús Rivera Park. Benjamín Molina organized youth teams. On October 11, 2008, Molina's father died from a heart attack. At the moment it occurred, he was tending to a baseball field that he had built for the youth in Bayamón.


title: Yadier Molina

text: Spurred by absences from autograph shows for which he was paid to appear, Steiner Sports Marketing filed a lawsuit for $175,000 against Molina in the New York state supreme court in Manhattan on October 2, 2009. Steiner Sports allegedly paid him $90,640 in advance when they renewed their contract with him in July 2008. The firm stated that he ignored their agreement to make public and private appearances to sign autographs and did not return the money.


title: Yadier Molina

text: After Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico in September 2017, Molina and Wanda started a GoFundMe page for the victims on September 21 with a goal of $1 million. It raised $20,000 in the first seven hours. More than three million Puerto Ricans were left without power, and "The New York Times" had reported that over 95% of cell service was unavailable. Drone video coverage on The Weather Channel described Bayamon as looking "like a war zone." Continuing with relief efforts, Molina was consequently named the recipient of the annual Roberto Clemente Award on October 24, 2018.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: The Central Asian Shepherd Dog, also known as the Alabay or Alabai (), is a livestock guardian dog breed. Traditionally, the breed was used for guarding sheep and goat herds, as well as to protect and for guard duty.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: The ancestor of the Central Asian shepherd originated in a geographical area between the Ural, Caspian Sea, Asia Minor, and the Northwest border of China. Aboriginal Central Asians as well as mixes still can be found in its countries of origin, such as, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and surrounding countries. It is considered a symbol of pride and national heritage in Turkmenistan, where a gold statue of the animal was unveiled in 2020. Some serve as livestock guardians, some protect their owners, and some are used for dog fighting, which is a national tradition in many countries of that region. This breed bears a strong genetic similarity to other aboriginal breeds of Livestock Guardian dogs from that region such as Georgian Shepherd (Nagazi), Kangal dog, and Akbash.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: Russian biologists and scientists have studied the local dog population since the 18th century. After the Communist revolution, the Soviet government focused on working dog breeds for the Red Army, and imported the best breed representatives to Russia as per military dogs' and guard dogs' requirements. Over the decades, this practice harmed the local population. The introduction of new breeds to the region led to crossbreeding. Eventually, purebred dogs only remained with herders, breed enthusiasts and farms, with a surfeit of crosses elsewhere. However, the Central Asian Shepherd Dog population is still stable in general, reproducing some true quality dogs praised for working abilities, regardless of country of origin. Trading bloodlines and purchasing unrelated breeding stock between Russia, other former USSR republics (such as Ukraine, Belarus etc.) and countries where CAO (Central Asian Ovtcharka) still at aboriginal stage is a common practice nowadays.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: This breed comprises numerous breed types. They differ in size, color, head types, and hair types. Central Asians tend to form a social group, consisting of different members bearing different duties; thus puppies with different working qualities are normally born in the same litter. These breed features, as well as different traditional names for the breed, give grounds for complications with breed standard. Most important, purebred Central Asians have unique breed characteristics. Breed-specific dog anatomy includes exclusive features, such as very noticeable extremely flexible joints, false ribs, specific head set, and very strong neck with massive dewlap. Expressive, almost human eyes, revealing inimitable intelligence, finish the portrait.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: For working qualities, modern Central Asians have been bred into different directions, depending on the demand for specific abilities. Traditional dog fighting had always been a national tradition in places of original habitat, but they had never been cruel and destructive as pitbull-type fights. All herders from the same area annually met together, and fought their strongest sheep guardian male dogs to pick the winner. It was about dominance rather than destroying their own kind. Most dogs evaluated each other when met at the field and the weaker or more submissive dog left, taking the loss. Dogs seldom injured each other, inflicting mostly minor scratches within a short period of time. Only true leaders actually had to determine the strongest dog via a real fight; but this was minor, compared to their everyday duties, facing predators and venomous snakes.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: Modern commercial dog fights often differ from traditional as much as livestock guardian dogs differ from fighting dogs. There are different rules, and different breeds involved. Most Central Asians used for modern commercial fights come from fighting lines. The majority of breeders are aware of their dogs' backgrounds, and will tell whether the dog comes from lines used for fighting. One can always expect a high level of aggression toward other dogs from CAOs with a dog fighting background. It is always important to distinguish whether a dog will display aggression only toward strange, unfriendly dogs entering their territory, while establishing and maintaining the usual social relationships with other animals on the premises; or will attack regardless of whether the other dog is a member of the same social group. Promiscuity in aggression toward strangers and friends is highly atypical for the breed.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: Central Asians are still in demand as livestock guardians, though not nearly as much as they used to be. These dogs, to differing degrees, are protective against human intruders; they are very territorial, safe with children; they love and respect elderly people, protect all small animals from predators, and are very gentle with family members.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: Dogs for personal protection or working dogs originated from livestock guardian dogs, selectively bred by Russian breed experts for working abilities. As a result, they excel in obedience, territory protection, and personal protection, and are very intelligent. As such, they make perfect house dogs. They do not need any complicated training to learn basic house rules, and treat the owner with the same great respect with which their ancestors treated the herder. These dogs were introduced to the worldwide sheep breeding community with great success. Guard dogs must be able to work as a team to protect sheep against predators; thus excessively aggressive CAOs, as with any other dogs, cannot be members of the pack, and will not pass this simple test for compliance with the breed origination purpose.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: Central Asian Shepherd dogs can come from working lines, fighting lines, and livestock guardian lines, and behave accordingly, regardless of the country they come from. Simple pedigree research and conversation with the breeder will reveal what basic instincts one can expect from the dog. Central Asians from pure show lines are very rare, because most registries require working tests prior to breeding.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: This breed presents a robust dog of greater than average size with great strength and power. They are independent, curious and alert, yet imperturbable. The dog is as long as it is tall at the withers, or slightly longer than its height. The hair is short or moderately long with a heavy undercoat. Its ears are, in practice, cropped very short, and the tail is docked moderately long (except for dogs from countries where cosmetic surgeries for dogs are illegal). Most common colors are black/white; fawn of different shades, from almost white to deep red; brindle. Some have a black mask.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: The head is very solid, without pronounced stop or sculls. The neck is low set, short, with dewlap. The body is fairly broad, proportionate, muscles rather flat. The ribcage appears very long because of developed false ribs. The legs are straight, with heavy boning and moderate yet defined angulation. Leg bones must be in proportion, and shall never give the impression that any bone is short. The rump is broad. The typical gait is a gallop; however CAO can trot for hours without wearing themselves out.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: The Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov wrote a book about the animal and in 2017 presented Russian President Vladimir Putin with Verni, a puppy, as a birthday present.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: In Turkmenistan, the National Holiday of the Turkmen Alabay was established in 2021. In April 2021, the first beauty contest "Brave Turkmen Alabay of the Year" was held in Turkmenistan on the occasion of the National Holiday of the Turkmen Alabay. The contest is held annually in Turkmenistan as part of the Alabay holiday celebrated on the last Sunday of April.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: In order to develop dog breeding in Turkmenistan, popularize at the international level the successes achieved in this direction, the Association "Turkmen Alabay" publishes the magazine "Türkmeniň nusgalyk alabaýy" ("Exemplary Turkmen Alabay").


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: The image of the Alabay is drawn on the state medals "People's Dog Breeder of Turkmenistan" and "Honored Dog Breeder of Turkmenistan".


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: The Central Asian is a working breed of dog, and different breed fanciers organizations issue sets or rules and recommendations important to preserve dogs’ abilities to perform certain duties. This includes special tests to determine a dog's inborn qualities, and training degrees or titles aimed to show what the dog can learn to do.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: The National Breed Club in Russia developed a temperament test to reveal a dog's willingness and ability to protect the premises, as well as titles in Obedience (such as OKD), and in Protection (such as ZKS or KS) for dogs in most pedigrees from Russia and other countries of that region. There are several other types of tests and training titles, from simple to extremely complicated.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: Breed Clubs in European countries seldom have requirements, while common dog sports such as Schutzhund or IPO are not perfectly suitable for a Livestock Guardian dog. Some European Union Countries developed special tests for large breeds of dogs aiming to reveal a dog's overall stability, such as The Dog Mentality Assessment test in Sweden.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: Fight tests are common in countries where the breed is still in aboriginal stage, or in the process of formation. Despite adverse reputation of commercial dog fights, fight tests are aimed to reveal a dog's willingness and ability to fight predators. In countries with highly developed open field sheepherding, major livestock herd losses may be caused by predation from feral dogs and wolf-dog hybrids, and the livestock guardian dogs must be able to protect the sheep from those. The fight tests were established to maintain this important breed trait.


title: Central Asian Shepherd Dog

text: The CAO is a versatile, universal breed and fits under different descriptions at a time, what is a reason for different Kennel Clubs to classify Central Asians under different dog breed groups. RKF, a FCI-recognized Russian Kennel Club, classifies Central Asians as a working dog breed, reflecting tremendous results in obedience, protection and military-related training. Modern breeding requirements by the leading kennel club in Russia include mandatory temperament tests and training titles, besides show ratings. The UKC fits them together with other Flock Guardians of similar breeds, matching breeds’ natural sheep-guarding abilities, proven by breeders and farmers in the U.S.. The FCI classifies them as Molossoid dogs, sometimes described in different languages as Molossus- or Molosser-type dogs, likewise, reflecting the match by confirmation and common ancestry between the CAO and related breeds.


title: Eliot Sumner

text: Sumner began writing songs at the age of 15, and signed a multi-record deal with Island Records at age 17. They spent six months writing and recording a debut album, "The Constant" (2010), in Sweden with producer Klas Åhlund, keyboardist Emlyn Maillard, and multi-instrumentalist and producer Al Shux under the band name I Blame Coco. The album included elements of pop music, electronic music, ska, and punk. The first single, "Caesar", featured Swedish pop singer Robyn. The next single, "Self Machine", was released in July 2010.


title: Eliot Sumner

text: According to Christian Wåhlberg, Sumner's manager, Åhlund, had been keen to work with Sumner because she saw the "punk rocker" in them. Wåhlberg said that the electropop sound of the album was influenced by Darcus Beese, president of Island Records, and that if Sumner had signed to a different record label, the music would have been different.


title: Eliot Sumner

text: In 2014, Sumner said their music would be released under their birth name, Eliot Sumner. Later that year, they released the EP "Information", and in 2016 the full album "Information" appeared. Sumner's contributions to other musicians' albums include vocals for the song "End of the Road" by Sway and the single "Splash" by Sub Focus. They sang a cover version of the Radiohead song "Creep" with Clint Mansell for the soundtrack to the movie "Filth" (2013).


title: Eliot Sumner

text: Sumner appeared briefly in the films "Me Without You" (2001) and "Stardust" (2007). They made their adult acting debut in Guy Ritchie's "The Gentlemen" in 2020. They appeared in the James Bond film "No Time to Die" (2020). In December 2021, Sumner was cast in Showtime's drama series "Ripley" in a recurring role. They played a hiker in the thriller, "Infinite Storm", appearing before Naomi Watts' character begins hiking to the summit of Mt. Washington.


title: Eliot Sumner

text: Eliot Paulina Sumner is the child of musician Sting (Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner) and actress Trudie Styler. Sumner was born in Pisa, Italy, grew up in Wiltshire, England, and was educated at Bryanston School and then the Fine Arts College in London.


title: Eliot Sumner

text: They grew up at Lake House, the family estate near Stonehenge. Eliot has two brothers (Jake and Giacomo), a sister (Mickey), an older half-brother (Joe), and a half-sister (Kate). Their family gave Sumner the nickname "Coco". Drawn to the outdoors, Sumner spent a lot of time alone in the woods. Their family gave Eliot their first guitar at age four or five. They wrote their first song at age 13, and signed a record deal four years later. After recording and touring with I Blame Coco, they lived alone in a cottage in the Lake District of England and became interested in house music. Sumner also works as a DJ in European dance clubs under the moniker "Vaal".


title: Eliot Sumner

text: Sumner's sense of smell was lost after a brain injury in 2009. In December 2015, Sumner said that they did not believe in gender labels and did not identify with a particular gender. They use gender-neutral pronouns.


title: Dependent territory

text: A dependent territory, dependent area, or dependency (sometimes referred as an external territory) is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a sovereign state, yet remains politically outside the controlling state's integral area.


title: Dependent territory

text: A dependent territory is commonly distinguished from a country subdivision by being considered not to be a constituent part of a sovereign state. An administrative subdivision, instead, is understood to be a division of a state proper. A dependent territory, conversely, often maintains a great degree of autonomy from its controlling state. Historically, most colonies were considered to be dependent territories. The dependent territories that currently remain in the world today generally maintain a very high degree of political autonomy. Not all autonomous entities, though, are considered to be dependent territories. Most inhabited dependent territories have their own ISO 3166 country codes.


title: Dependent territory

text: Some political entities inhabit a special position guaranteed by an international treaty or another agreement, thereby creating a certain level of autonomy (e.g. a difference in immigration rules). Those entities are sometimes considered to be, or are at least grouped with, dependent territories, but are officially considered by their governing states to be an integral part of those states. Examples are Åland (an autonomous region of Finland) and Northern Ireland (a constituent country of the United Kingdom).


title: Dependent territory

text: This list includes all territories that have not been legally incorporated into their governing state, including several territories that are not on the list of non-self-governing territories of the General Assembly of the United Nations. All claims in Antarctica are listed in "italics".


title: Dependent territory

text: New Zealand has two self-governing associated states, one dependent territory, and a territorial claim in Antarctica.


title: Dependent territory

text: Norway has one dependent territory and two Antarctic claims. Norway also possesses the inhabited islands of Svalbard where Norwegian sovereignty is limited (see below).


title: Dependent territory

text: The United Kingdom has three "Crown Dependencies", thirteen "Overseas Territories" (ten autonomous, two used primarily as military bases, and one uninhabited), and one Antarctic claim.


title: Dependent territory

text: The United States has 13 "unincorporated" dependent territories under its control and two claimed territories outside its control. The uninhabited Palmyra Atoll is administered similarly to some of these territories, and is usually included on lists of U.S. overseas territories, but it is excluded from this list because it is classified in U.S. law as an incorporated territory. The U.S. Constitution does not apply in full to the insular areas.


title: Dependent territory

text: The following entities are, according to the law of their state, integral parts of the state but exhibit many characteristics of dependent territories. This list is generally limited to entities that are either subject to an international treaty on their status, uninhabited, or have a unique level of autonomy and are largely self-governing in matters other than international affairs. It generally does not include entities with no unique autonomy, such as the overseas regions of France, the BES islands of the Netherlands, Jan Mayen of Norway, and Palmyra Atoll of the United States. Entities with only limited unique autonomy, such as the autonomous regions of Portugal, the Canary Islands and the autonomous cities of Spain, Barbuda of Antigua and Barbuda, Nevis of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Zanzibar of Tanzania, and Sabah and Sarawak of Malaysia are also not included. All claims in Antarctica are listed in "italics".


title: Dependent territory

text: Although all territories of Australia are considered to be fully integrated in its federal system, and the official status of an external territory does not differ largely from that of a mainland territory (except in regards to immigration law), debate remains as to whether the external territories are integral parts of Australia, due to their not being part of Australia in 1901, when its constituent states federated (with the exception of the Coral Sea Islands, which was a part of Queensland). Norfolk Island was self-governing from 1979 to 2016. The external territories are often grouped separately from Australia proper for statistical purposes.


title: Dependent territory

text: The People's Republic of China (PRC) has two special administrative regions (SARs) that are governed according to the constitution and respective basic laws. The SARs greatly differ from mainland China in administrative, economic, legislative and judicial terms, including by currency, left-hand versus right-hand traffic, official languages and immigration control. Although the PRC does claim sovereignty over Taiwan (governed by the Republic of China), it is not listed here as the PRC government does not have "de facto" control of the territory.


title: Dependent territory

text: The Kingdom of Denmark contains two autonomous territories with their own governments and legislatures, and input into foreign affairs.


title: Dependent territory

text: France has overseas six autonomous collectivities and two uninhabited territories (one of which includes an Antarctic claim). This does not include its "standard" overseas regions (which are also overseas departments) of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion. Although also located overseas, they have the same status as the regions of metropolitan France. Nonetheless, all of France's overseas territory is considered an integral part of the French Republic.


title: Dependent territory

text: The Kingdom of the Netherlands comprises three autonomous "constituent countries" in the Caribbean (listed below) and one constituent country, the Netherlands, with most of its area in Europe but also encompassing three overseas Caribbean municipalities—Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba. (Those three Caribbean municipalities are excluded here because they are directly administered by the Government of the Netherlands.) All Kingdom citizens share the same nationality and are thus citizens of the European Union, but only the European portion of the Netherlands is part of the territory of the Union, the Customs Union and the Eurozone (overseas countries and territory status).


title: Dependent territory

text: Norway has, in the Arctic, one inhabited archipelago with restrictions placed on Norwegian sovereignty — Svalbard. Unlike the country's dependent territory (Bouvet Island) and Antarctic claims (see above), Svalbard is a part of the Kingdom of Norway.


title: Dependent territory

text: Three Crown Dependencies are in a form of association with the United Kingdom. They are independently administrated jurisdictions, although the British Government is solely responsible for defense and international representation and has ultimate responsibility for ensuring good government. They do not have diplomatic recognition as independent states, but neither are they integrated into the U.K. (nor the European Union). The U.K. Parliament retains the ability to legislate for the crown dependencies even without the agreement of their legislatures. No crown dependency has representation in the U.K. Parliament.


title: Dependent territory

text: Although they are British Overseas Territories, Bermuda and Gibraltar have similar relationships to the U.K. as do the Crown Dependencies. While Britain is officially responsible for their defense and international representation, these jurisdictions maintain their own militaries and have been granted limited diplomatic powers, in addition to having internal self-government.


title: Dependent territory

text: New Zealand and its dependencies share the same governor-general and constitute one monarchic realm. The Cook Islands and Niue are officially termed associated states.


title: Dependent territory

text: Puerto Rico (since 1952) and the Northern Mariana Islands (since 1986) are non-independent states freely associated with the United States. The mutually negotiated Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in Political Union with the United States was approved in 1976. The covenant was fully implemented on November 3, 1986, under Presidential Proclamation no. 5564, which conferred United States citizenship on legally qualified CNMI residents. Under the Constitution of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico is described as a Commonwealth and Puerto Ricans have a degree of administrative autonomy similar to that of a citizen of a U.S. state. Puerto Ricans "were collectively made U.S. citizens" in 1917, as a result of the Jones-Shafroth Act. The commonly used name in Spanish of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, "Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico", literally "Associated Free State of Puerto Rico", which sounds similar to "free association" particularly when loosely used in Spanish, is sometimes erroneously interpreted to mean that Puerto Rico's relationship with United States is based on a Compact of Free Association and at other times is erroneously held to mean that Puerto Rico's relationship with United States is based on an Interstate compact. This is a constant source of ambiguity and confusion when trying to define, understand, and explain Puerto Rico's political relationship with the United States. For various reasons Puerto Rico's political status differs from that of the Pacific Islands that entered into Compacts of Free Association with the United States. As sovereign states, these islands have the full right to conduct their foreign relations, while the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has territorial status subject to United States congressional authority under the Constitution's Territory Clause, "to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory… belonging to the United States." Puerto Rico does not have the right to unilaterally declare independence, and at the last referendum (1998), the narrow majority voted for "none of the above", which was a formally undefined alternative used by commonwealth supporters to express their desire for an "enhanced commonwealth" option.


title: Dependent territory

text: This kind of relationship can also be found in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is termed a federacy. The European continental part is organized like a unitary state. However, the status of its "constituent countries" in the Caribbean (Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten) can be considered akin to dependencies or "associated non-independent states."


title: Dependent territory

text: The Kingdom of Denmark also operates similarly, akin to another federacy. The Faroe Islands and Greenland are two self-governing territories or regions within the Kingdom. The relationship between Denmark proper and these two territories is semi-officially termed the "Rigsfællesskabet" ("Unity of the Realm").


title: Thirteen Days (film)

text: Thirteen Days is a 2000 American historical political thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson. It dramatizes the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, seen from the perspective of the US political leadership. Kevin Costner stars as top White House assistant Kenneth P. O'Donnell, with Bruce Greenwood featured as President John F. Kennedy, Steven Culp as Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Dylan Baker as Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.


title: Thirteen Days (film)

text: While the film carries the same title as the 1969 book "Thirteen Days" by former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, it is in fact based on the 1997 book, "The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis", by Ernest R. May and Philip D. Zelikow. It is the second docudrama made about the crisis, the first being 1974's "The Missiles of October", which was based on Kennedy's book. The 2000 film contains some newly declassified information not available to the earlier production, but takes greater dramatic license, particularly in its choice of O'Donnell as protagonist. It received generally positive reviews from critics who praised the screenplay and performances of the cast but was a box office bomb grossing $66.6 million against its $80 million budget.


title: Thirteen Days (film)

text: In October 1962, U-2 aerial surveillance photos reveal that the Soviet Union is in the process of placing intermediate-range ballistic missiles carrying nuclear weapons in Cuba. President John F. Kennedy and his advisers must come up with a plan of action to prevent their activation. Kennedy is determined to show that the United States will not allow a missile threat. The Joint Chiefs of Staff advise immediate U.S. military strikes against the missile sites followed by an invasion of Cuba. Kennedy is reluctant to attack and invade because it would very likely cause the Soviets to invade Berlin, which could lead to an all-out war. Citing "The Guns of August", Kennedy sees an analogy to the events that started World War I, where the tactics of both sides' commanders had not evolved since the previous war and were obsolete, only this time nuclear weapons are involved. War appears to be almost inevitable.


title: Thirteen Days (film)

text: The Kennedy administration tries to find a solution that will remove the missiles but avoid an act of war. They reject a blockade, as this is formally regarded as an act of war, and settle on what they publicly describe as a quarantine. They announce that the U.S. naval forces will stop all ships entering Cuban waters and inspect them to verify they are not carrying weapons destined for Cuba. The Soviet Union sends mixed messages in response. Off the shores of Cuba, the Soviet ships turn back from the quarantine lines. Secretary of State Dean Rusk says, "We're eyeball to eyeball and I think the other fellow just blinked." The administration continues to order spy plane pictures, but one of Kennedy's top advisers, Kenneth O'Donnell, calls the pilots to ensure the pilots do not report that they were shot at or fired upon, because if they were, the country would be forced to retaliate under the rules of engagement.


title: Thirteen Days (film)

text: John A. Scali, a reporter with ABC News, is contacted by Soviet "emissary" Aleksandr Fomin, and through this back-channel communication method the Soviets offer to remove the missiles in exchange for public assurances from the U.S. that it will never invade Cuba. A long message in the same tone as the informal communication from Fomin, apparently written personally by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, is received. This is followed by a second, more hard line cable in which the Soviets offer a deal involving U.S removal of its Jupiter missiles from Turkey. The Kennedy administration interprets the second as a response from the Politburo, and in a risky act, decides to ignore it and respond to the first message, assumed to be from Khrushchev. There are several mis-steps during the crisis: the defense readiness level of Strategic Air Command (SAC) is raised to DEFCON 2 (one step shy of maximum readiness for imminent war), without informing the President; a nuclear weapon test proceeds (Bluegill Triple Prime) and a routine test launch of a U.S. offensive missile is also carried out without the President's knowledge.


title: Thirteen Days (film)

text: In a bid for time while under intense pressure from the military for an immediate strike, President Kennedy authorizes attacks on the missile sites and an invasion of Cuba, to commence the following Monday. An Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane is sent over Cuba to gather intelligence for the attack, but is shot down, killing the pilot. After much deliberation with the Executive Committee of the National Security Council, Kennedy makes a final attempt to avoid a war by sending his brother, Robert F. Kennedy to meet with Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin on Friday night. Bobby reiterates the demand that the Soviets remove their missiles from Cuba, and in return promises not to invade or assist in the invasion of Cuba. Dobrynin insists that the U.S. must also remove all Jupiter missiles from Turkey, on the border of the Soviet Union. Bobby says that a quid pro quo is not possible, but in exchange for Khrushchev removing all the missiles from Cuba, there will be a secret understanding that the U.S. will remove all of its "obsolete" missiles from Turkey within six months as part of a pre-scheduled plan. The Soviets announce on Sunday that they will remove their missiles from Cuba, averting a war that could have escalated to the use of nuclear weapons. The film ends with President Kennedy dictating a letter of condolence to the family of the reconnaissance pilot, Rudolf Anderson, who was shot down over Cuba as part of the preparations for the invasion, and the Kennedy brothers and O'Donnell outside of the Oval Office as actual audio of President Kennedy's commencement speech at American University played in the background.


title: Thirteen Days (film)

text: The film was co-produced by several studios, including New Line Cinema, Costner's Tig Productions and Armyan Bernstein's Beacon Pictures.


title: Thirteen Days (film)

text: The Department of Defense co-operated to some extent by allowing the producers to film on several bases. To keep the film "in period," filming took place on ships from the time of the crisis that still existed in the active fleet () and ships that are preserved as museums (). Aircraft (both a preserved F-8 Crusader and Lockheed U-2 spyplane were featured) that still exist from the period were refurbished to appear operational as well. The RF-8 Crusader (and an F-5) and the scenes of Cuba were shot in the Philippines. The air base scene was taken at Clark Air Base, Philippines, a former American facility, which substituted for NAS Key West, Florida, where the actual RF-8As of Light Photographic Squadron SIX TWO (VFP-62) launched from on their Cuban overflight missions. At the time of the shooting, the F-8 was still in the inventory of the Philippine Air Force but was no longer operational. The F-5 was retired in 2005.


title: Thirteen Days (film)

text: The film was given a limited theatrical release on Christmas Day 2000, and a wide release on January 12, 2001, with a staggered release to various countries throughout most of the year. The film grossed $66,579,890 worldwide against a production budget of $80 million.


title: Thirteen Days (film)

text: Rotten Tomatoes reports that 83% of 124 critics have given the film positive reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's consensus states: ""Thirteen Days" offers a compelling look at the Cuban Missile Crisis, and its talented cast deftly portrays the real-life people who were involved." Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream film critics, gives "Thirteen Days" a score of 67, based on 31 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.