photo: Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols (USA TODAY Sports)
What if you had to decide between two of the greatest players in St. Louis Cardinals history?
On Monday, January 19, the St. Louis Cardinals Red Ribbon Committee held its annual meeting. The objectives were two-fold:
- Set the ballot for fan voting for Modern Era players.
- Select a Veteran Era honoree (retired for 40 or more years).
The same process has been followed since 2014 with experienced committee members in place, so there should have been no surprises coming in.
Then again, maybe there would be.
What could have unfolded would have been as difficult as a parent being forced to select their favorite child.
Here is the potential rub.
Annually since 2020, just one Modern Era player has been voted into the Cardinals Hall. The reason the quantity was dropped from its initial two is that the backlog of most deserving Modern Era players had been worked down over the years since 2014.
However, for 2026, two franchise icons will be eligible for the Modern Era ballot for the first time, three years after their retirement as active players (following the 2022 season).
They are none other than future (likely first ballot Cooperstown) Hall of Famers Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. Or is it Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols?
The committee’s task is to evaluate the contributions of each candidate and cast an ordered, weighted ballot. Votes are secretly tallied and the top Modern Era scorers are then placed on the fan online ballot to select the annual honoree.
So, who should be first and who should be second?
What if you had to decide between Molina and Pujols? How could you? How would you?
The first question is to be considered is how to assess candidates who took different career paths.
Committee members often discuss how to take into consideration results players obtained while playing for other teams. The general answer is that this is the Cardinals Hall of Fame, so the feats achieved while wearing the Birds on the Bat are what should matter.
Without delving deeply into the numbers, let’s have some back-and-forth about each candidate’s qualifications.
- Molina was a career-long Cardinal (for 19 years), while Pujols famously was not, though Albert came home for his 12th and final season with St. Louis.
- Yet, while both were highly celebrated, Albert’s list of individual awards as a Cardinal is much longer.
- Yet, the presence of Molina on defense literally changed opponents’ strategies on the bases.
- Yet, Albert generated far better offensive stats, including WAR.
- Yet, for almost two full decades, Molina made many of his teammates, especially pitchers, better.
So, I return to the primary question. How could you decide?
Before you even try to answer that, there is good news. Fans should not be forced to deal with this dilemma. Just as the quantity of Modern Era selections changed between 2019 to 2020, so can it revert for 2026. The rules are flexible enough such that Cardinal fans will not be forced to choose between the two greats to don the red jacket for the first time this summer.
Look for a spring training announcement of the ballot, voting procedures and details of an Induction Ceremony that should be the biggest, grandest and best attended ever!
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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com. Follow Brian and The Cardinal Nation on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.
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