The St. Louis Cardinals faced off against the Milwaukee Brewers in the second game of a three-game series on Saturday afternoon.
Just the night before, St. Louis had snapped their seven-game home losing streak with a 7-1 victory.
Meanwhile, with all of that going on, there was an individual achievement that was on the verge of being made: Yadier Molina reaching the milestone of 1,500 career hits.
Entering the game, there had been only 33 catchers in the history of baseball who were able to reach that mark.
On Saturday, Molina was able to reach that mark, becoming number 34. In addition, he is now 15th on the all-time hit list for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Once a light hitter, Molina’s development at the plate over the years has become a big topic for fans and analysts alike.
Prior to the game, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny expressed his thoughts on the impending accomplishment.
“It’s amazing,” Matheny said. “When he has everything working, I don’t know if there’s a guy who’s more enjoyable to watch (and) that’s why the fans get up on their feet every time he comes to the plate and every time his name is announced. He’s an exciting player.”
The former Cardinals catcher, who notched 925 hits in his career, was asked about Molina getting to the Hall of Fame.
“Yeah, if I’m voting,” he said.
Matheny later continued: “I have great appreciation when I see something like 3,000 hits, 1,500 hits… to think about 200 hits over 20 years, that’s a bid deal. I mean, that’s rare. As I watch current players and guys who are I see are probably on that track, you just have to watch to see which ones are doing something special. That’s what I believe the Hall of Fame would be. I understand you have to have some guidelines, but to us, I think we’ve been witnessing something pretty special for a long time.”
St. Louis won the game 3-0, and will look for the sweep on Sunday.
