Hot Yadi: Molina still cornerstone at catcher

ST. LOUIS — With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to Spring Training in less than six weeks, it’s not too early to begin dissecting the Cardinals’ 2017 roster. This is the first of a six-part Around the Horn series that will take a position-by-position look at the team’s projected starters and backup options heading into next season. Up first: Catchers. 

Perhaps it’s fitting to start this series behind the plate, where, for the last dozen years, there has been one constant: Yadier Molina.

With another Opening Day start in 2017, Molina will join Stan Musial and Lou Brock as the only players in franchise history to start 13 consecutive season openers. Molina is not only distinguished as the longest-tenured member of the organization, but he’s also been among its most durable, a remarkable feat given the demands of his position.

Conjecture about how Molina’s playing time might regress with age has been thwarted by his insistence that he play as much now as he did in his younger days. In fact, Molina, who turned 34 last July, will enter 2017 on the heels of a season in which he started more games (142) and logged more innings (1,218 1/3) behind the plate than ever before. Both figures also finished as Major League-highs.

Whether this becomes the year the Cardinals …

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