Yadi after Gold Glove snub: They didn't want me to tie Johnny Bench
St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina didn't receive a Gold Glove nomination, and he's more than a little ticked off.
After congratulating the three National League nominees in an Instagram post in Spanish on Thursday, Molina proceeded to question the selection process, wondering if he was snubbed to protect the legacy of Hall of Fame backstop Johnny Bench.
"I respect all the finalists in catching in the 2020 National League!" Molina wrote, as translated by theScore. "Now ... I see an injustice to those who decide who or not ... I do not know if it is (MLB) or whoever it is but it is clear that they do not want this Puerto Rican jibarito to draw with the great (Johnny Bench). ... It is a shame that they judge me for not supporting the league at all and not being the 'puppet' of them. ... For me at 38 years old I'm still the best ... ask every catcher in mlb and they will tell you !!!"
Molina is widely considered to be among the greatest defensive catchers of his generation, if not the best, and he owns the hardware to back it up. His nine Gold Gloves rank third all time among catchers, and second to Bench's 10 in NL history. Only Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez, who won 13 Gold Gloves in the American League, has earned more.
Three of Molina's rival catchers in the NL Central - Tucker Barnhart of the Cincinnati Reds, Willson Contreras of the Chicago Cubs, and Jacob Stallings of the Pittsburgh Pirates - were named as Gold Glove finalists this year. Managers and coaches normally vote for the award, but SABR Defensive Index solely determined this season's finalists due to the shortened campaign.
In 337 1/3 innings behind the plate this year, Molina contributed one defensive run saved while throwing out 45% of potential base-stealers. His two runs from extra strikes (a metric that helps evaluate pitch framing) lands him in the middle of the pack, and it matched Stallings and Contreras. However, Molina's 50.3% strike rate trailed two of the three NL finalists.
The 38-year-old, who last won a Gold Glove in 2018, is slated to become a free agent this winter.