Womack: Yadier Molina’s surprisingly weak Hall of Fame case

From SABR member Graham Womack at The Sporting News on October 6, 2015, with mention of SABR members Joe Posnanski, Adam Darowski, and Jay Jaffe:

If Yadier Molina isn’t the best catcher in baseball today, he might be the most celebrated. Already one of the best defensive backstops in the game’s history, he’s won seven consecutive Gold Gloves and made seven straight All Star teams. He’s also been an integral member of the Cardinals through four National League pennants and two World Series titles, helping the Cards to another 100-win season and playoff berth this year.

When people talk about future Hall of Famers among active players, Molina generally is in the discussion. Ryan Fagan of Sporting News named Molina one of 15 active likely Hall of Famers in July. Joe Posnanski of NBC Sports pegged Molina’s chances for Cooperstown at 84 percent, writing , “At retirement, he will have an argument as the greatest defensive catcher in the history of baseball. That gets him in, even with an average bat.”

That average bat doesn’t bode greatly for Molina’s chances. Surprisingly, the rest of his statistical case isn’t much stronger. By sabermetrics, Molina looks like far from a sure thing for Cooperstown. He likely will get in the Hall of Fame, though perhaps he shouldn’t.

Read the full article here: http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2015-10-06/yadier-molina-baseball-hall-of-fame-chances-stats-cardinals?



Originally published: October 6, 2015. Last Updated: October 6, 2015.