Bengie Molina accepts coaching position with Cardinals

Former Major League catcher Bengie Molina has accepted the St. Louis Cardinals offer to become their assistant hitting coach. If the name Molina sounds familiar to any baseball fans out there, he's the oldest brother Tampa Bay Rays catcher Jose Molina, and St. Louis Cardinals All-Star catcher Yadier Molina. Bengie is 38-years old and retired during the 2011 season, after not being signed by any teams in free agency.

Molina played in the MLB for thirteen seasons during his career, he was signed as an amateur free agent in 1993 by the California Angels (also known as the Anaheim Angels, and now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim). He played in the MLB from 1998-2010. He won a World Series as a member of the 2002 Anaheim Angels, and also got Word Series ring as a member of the 2010 San Francisco Giants, even though he was traded to the Texas Rangers during the season (any player traded or released still gets a ring from a team if they win the World Series, both teams met in the 2010 World Series). Molina played for the Angels from 1998-2005, then would sign a one-year deal (worth $5million) with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2006. After 2006, he would hit free agency again and ended up signing with the San Francisco Giants for three years worth $16 million. He was then re-signed by the Giants to a one-year deal for the 2010 season, worth $4.5 million. During the 2010 season, rookie catcher Buster Posey pushed Molina out of a starting job, and would end up being traded to the Texas Rangers for relief pitcher Chris Ray and a player to be named later, which ended up being minor league pitcher Michael Main. Molina would then retire during the 2011 season, after not being signed as a free agent by any teams. For Molina's career he finished with a career batting average of 274, 144 home runs, 711 rbi's, and 1,317 career hits.

His best season came in 2008 while on the Giants, hitting 292, with 16 home runs, and 95 rbi's (his most rbi's in a season during his career). It was Bengie's younger brother Yadier who suggested that Bengie might be open to a return, when Cardinals manager Mike Matheny was discussing candidates for a vacant spot on the coaching staff, after hitting coach Mark McGwire left to become the Los Angeles Dodgers hitting coach. And then former assistant hitting coach, John Mabry became the Cardinals hitting coach. So, that left a spot open on Matheny's coaching staff.

Yadier would end up calling up his oldest brother Bengie, and asking him if he's interested in a coaching job. At the time Bengie was planning to take one more season for before trying to go into coaching, and he thought that he'd start out as a catching instructor, maybe in the minors, a bench coach, or as a bullpen coach. Bengie never thought that he would become an assistant hitting coach for his first time as a coach in baseball. An interesting fact is that both Yadier and Bengie took over as starting catchers for manager Mike Matheny, during Matheny's career in the MLB.

Will Bengie Molina do a good job as assistant hitting coach for the Cardinals? We'll find out soon. I know that Mark McGwire ended up praising assistant hitting coach John Mabry for his work he did under him. Bengie also thinks that he could see himself as a future pitching coach later during his coaching career.