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Biography[]
Jose Molina (Jose Benjamin (Matta) Molina) was born on June 3, 1975 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. He made his Major League debut on September 6, 1999 for the Chicago Cubs. In 2004, his rookie year, he hit .261 with 3 home runs and 25 RBI. Molina played for the Chicago Cubs and Anaheim Angels over the course of his 7 year career.
]]. At 6' 2" and weighing 220 pounds, Molina is taller and more slender than his older brother Bengie Molina, who now plays for the Toronto Blue Jays. Their younger brother, Yadier Molina, is also a catcher, playing for the 2006 World Series champions, the St. Louis Cardinals. The three brothers are the only in MLB history to win World Series championship rings.
José Molina's first major league team was the Chicago Cubs, for whom he played 10 games in 1999. He joined the then-Anaheim Angels in 2001, but played only a handful of games before establishing himself during the 2002 season as the Angels backup catcher for his brother, Bengie.
Following Bengie's departure from the Angels, José Molina entered the 2006 season as the Angels' new starting catcher, though it was generally expected that rookie Jeff Mathis would also see substantial time handling the team's catching duties over the course of the season. However, Mathis struggled during the first month of the season and was demoted to the minor leagues. Molina's own offensive struggles, however, cast doubt on whether that move will result in increased playing time for him. The promising offensive performance of Mathis' replacement on the roster, rookie Mike Napoli, has once again relegated Molina to the role of a backup catcher; that was until he was traded to the New York Yankees during the 2008 MLB season.
Scouting Report[]
Statistics[]
Batting Stats[]
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | K | SB | CS | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | CHC | 10 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .263 | .333 | .316 | .649 |
| 2001 | ANA | 15 | 37 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | .270 | .325 | .514 | .839 |
| 2002 | ANA | 29 | 70 | 5 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 2 | .271 | .312 | .314 | .626 |
| 2003 | ANA | 53 | 114 | 12 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 0 | .184 | .210 | .219 | .429 |
| 2004 | ANA | 73 | 203 | 26 | 53 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 25 | 10 | 52 | 4 | 1 | .261 | .296 | .374 | .670 |
| 2005 | LAA | 75 | 184 | 14 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 25 | 13 | 41 | 2 | 0 | .228 | .286 | .348 | .634 |
| 2006 | LAA | 78 | 225 | 18 | 54 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 9 | 49 | 1 | 0 | .240 | .273 | .369 | .642 |
| 2007 | LAA | 40 | 125 | 9 | 28 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 30 | 2 | 1 | .224 | .242 | .288 | .530 |
| 2007 | NYY | 29 | 66 | 9 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 0 | .318 | .333 | .439 | .773 |
| Career | 402 | 1043 | 104 | 253 | 55 | 2 | 16 | 107 | 48 | 238 | 9 | 4 | .243 | .279 | .345 | .624 |
Fielding Stats[]
| Year | Team | POS | G | GS | INN | PO | TC | A | E | DP | FPCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | CHC | C | 10 | 7 | 57 | 44 | 49 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 |
| 2001 | ANA | C | 15 | 12 | 103 | 78 | 84 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 |
| 2002 | ANA | C | 29 | 24 | 210 | 155 | 174 | 16 | 3 | 3 | .983 |
| 2003 | ANA | C | 53 | 39 | 332 | 221 | 239 | 17 | 1 | 0 | .996 |
| 2004 | ANA | 1B | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 |
| 2004 | ANA | C | 70 | 57 | 524 | 441 | 481 | 37 | 3 | 4 | .994 |
| 2005 | LAA | C | 65 | 53 | 480 | 408 | 452 | 41 | 3 | 6 | .993 |
| 2005 | LAA | 1B | 4 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 |
| 2006 | LAA | 1B | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 |
| 2006 | LAA | C | 76 | 71 | 603 | 502 | 560 | 50 | 8 | 4 | .986 |
| 2007 | LAA | C | 40 | 37 | 323 | 283 | 304 | 17 | 4 | 2 | .987 |
| 2007 | NYY | C | 29 | 16 | 169 | 153 | 166 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 |
| Total | 412 | 320 | 2853 | 2329 | 2555 | 204 | 22 | 28 | .991 |
Awards[]
Transactions[]
- Selected by Chicago Cubs in the 14th round of the free-agent draft (June 3, 1993 - signed June 7, 1993).
- Released by Chicago Cubs (November 27, 2000).
- Signed by Anaheim Angels (January 15, 2001).
- Traded by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to the New York Yankees for Jeff Kennard (July 21, 2007)