Molina chasing Simmons for best HR season by a Cardinals catcher

In what was arguably the play of the game in one of the wildest St. Louis Cardinals contests in recent years, catcher Yadier Molina launched a two-run home run in the ninth inning in Miami on Monday night.

Down by two, the Cards were just one out away from defeat. With a runner on first, Molina connected off Marlins closer Heath Bell to tie the score. St. Louis went on to win in the tenth inning by an 8-7 margin.

The dramatic blast was Molina’s 11^th home run of the 2012 season and put him just three short of his career-best year. The 29-year-old launched 14 long balls in 2011. At this point last season, Molina had four.

From a historical perspective, this is the second-best home run pace by a Cardinals catcher in team history. Only Ted Simmons, with 18 home runs through the first 75 games of the 1979 season, had a faster start as a catcher than Molina.

At the right of the table that follows is the single-season home run leaderboard for Cardinals catchers. Simba added just eight more home runs following game 75 in 1979 to finish with the team record of 26 for the position. The gold standard for power-hitting catchers in franchise history, Simmons logged seven of the eight seasons that topped Molina’s 14 long balls last year.

Most home runs by a catcher, St. Louis Cardinals, through 75 games and full-season

	Thru 75 Games					Season
Rk	Catcher	Year	HR		Rk	Catcher	Year	HR
1	Ted Simmons	1979	18		1	Ted Simmons	1979	26
2	Yadier Molina	2012	11		2	Ted Simmons	1977	21
3	Ted Simmons	1980	10		3	Ted Simmons	1980	20
4	Darrell Porter	1983	9		4	Ted Simmons	1978	18
4	Ted Simmons	1977	9		5	Ted Simmons	1974	17
4	Ted Simmons	1975	9		6	Ted Simmons	1975	16
4	Ted Simmons	1974	9		7	Darrell Porter	1983	15
4	Hal Smith	1959	9		7	Ted Simmons	1972	15
9	Joe Torre	1970	8		9	Yadier Molina	2011	14
9	Eddie Ainsmith	1922	8		10	Tom Pagnozzi	1996	13
11	Todd Zeile	1990	7		10	Ted Simmons	1973	13
11	Ted Simmons	1972	7		10	Tim McCarver	1967	13
11	Tim McCarver	1965	7		10	Gene Oliver	1962	13
11	Carl Sawatski	1962	7		10	Hal Smith	1959	13
11	Tony Pena	1988	7		10	Eddie Ainsmith	1922	13
16	Eli Marrero	1999	6		16	Todd Zeile	1990	12
16	Darrell Porter	1984	6		16	Darrell Porter	1982	12
16	Ted Simmons	1978	6		16	Tim McCarver	1966	12
16	Tim McCarver	1967	6		16	Carl Sawatski	1962	12
16	Gene Oliver	1963	6		16	Del Rice	1947	12
16	Del Rice	1947	6		16	Bill DeLancey	1934	12
					22	Yadier Molina	2012	11
					22	Darrell Porter	1984	11
					22	Joe Torre	1970	11
					22	Tim McCarver	1965	11
					22	Del Rice	1952	11
					22	Walker Cooper	1944	11

Note that Molina already ranks in a tie for the 22^nd-best season with his year-to-date total of 11. With game 75 being Tuesday night in Miami, Molina technically has one more game to add to his fast start total.

If Molina could double his total the rest of the way this season – far from a sure thing given the heat of summer and the grind of catching every day – his theoretical total of 22 homers would rank as the second-best year for a catcher in team history, just four behind Simmons high-water mark.

The table above was provided by researcher Tom Orf.

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