Name That Molina!

Yes, any answer you could have picked would have been right. They are the only three brothers in baseball history to all win the World Series. Additionally, Yadier became only the third catcher in history to play in two World Series teams before the age of 25.

(For reference, Yogi Berra and Johnny Bench are the only other two to do so.)

As an extension of the original question, which is the only one that WASN’T a starter for the team he won with?

Who, incidentally, was Bengie’s backup on the 2002 Angels.

How many Gold Gloves have the brothers combined for?

Two from Bengie in his days with the Angels, and one from Yadier last season.

I’d expect that number to go up, though.

Jose was the last to do what at old Yankee Stadium?

Yep. It wasn’t A-Rod, or Jeter, or someone who will be remembered for his incredible years as a Yankee. It was Jose Molina. You can use that bit of info to win friends and influence people.

How many All-Star selections have the Super Molina Bros. compiled?

Woo! Jeopardy! Yes, Yadier’s selection as starter this year marked the first time anyone named Molina has made the All-Star team (and there have been several Molinas outside of the brothers; I checked Baseball Reference and was kind of surprised).

Which brother holds the record for most homers in a season (just among them, of course)?

That would be Bengie, with 19 in 2006, and then matched the following year.

Okay then, how about highest seasonal-batting average?

That would be Pride of the Cardinals, Yadier. His .304 average in 2008 topped all things Molina.

Okay, who has the most stolen bases. And remember, we’re dealing with a trio of speed demons here.

With a mind-boggling five (yes, five!) steals already this season, Yadier has already set a record for the Molina family.

Moving to catching duties, which one has caught the highest percentage of attempted base-stealers in his career?

That’s Yadier again, with 47 percent of runners caught, to Jose’s 40 percent and Bengie’s 32 percent.
And, lastly, which Molina has played for the most teams?

Good news! No matter who you picked, you’re right! Unless you picked Yadier. Okay, so it’s only two out of three that were possible answers.

Yadier has played his entire career (2004-) for the Cardinals. Bengie spent 1998-2005 with the Angels, left for the Blue Jays in 2006, and then for the Giants in 2007 on. Jose was drafted by the Cubs, and joined the majors in 1999. He found his way to the Angels in 2001, where he stayed until he was traded to the Yankees in 2007.

So there you have it. For every correct answer, add 1 point. For every miss subtract one. If you added the warm-up, your score probably desperately needed a boost.

If you got 10 points, you’re either incredible, or you are skilled in the ways of Wikipedia (that was my source for a lot of this, by the way). If you got more than 10, you cheated (like I said, the warm-up is just that; no points for answering it correctly).

If you didn’t realize this was a quiz and weren’t keeping score, I don’t blame you.