Yadier Molina: Much ado about nothing in Instagram picture

Yadier Molina posted an image to Instagram that has caused a bit of an uproar. But in this case, appearances are deceiving.

On Monday, a post on Instagram began making the round throughout the internet. St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina posted a photograph of himself with several other people, including a caption as to his thoughts about COVID-19.

Naturally, that image, and attached caption, caused outrage. Molina had been one of the Cardinals to test positive for COVID-19, causing the team to miss approximately two and a half weeks before returning to action. Molina himself has played in just nine of the Cardinals 17 games this season, largely due to his positive test and subsequent quarantine.

But it turns out there is more to this story than the image would lead one to believe. That picture was taken with two members of the Cardinals organization that missed their trek to Chicago, two of Molina’s trainers, a business associate, and his wife. It truly was nothing more than an innocent picture, and something that Molina himself took time to clarify.

One can understand where the initial outrage would have come from. A picture showing Molina, who had just dealt with the virus, hanging out with six other people, certainly is not a good look. Add in the caption, and the initial reaction is to question what, exactly, Molina is thinking.

That is particularly the case given what has happened around the league. The Marlins have essentially had to trade for a new team due to their outbreak. Zach Plesac and Mike Clevinger have been banished from the active roster after they left the team hotel. Clevinger compounded matters by not admitting his part and boarding the team flight after Sunday’s game.

With those situations, and the Cardinals having been through their own outbreak, it is easy to jump on Molina’s picture as another example of an athlete that doesn’t get it. But this was not the case at all. A better explanation of the picture would have worked to quell any outrage, but that is a lesson learned.

Yadier Molina inadvertently started an uproar with an image he posted to Instagram. But, as it turns out, there really was nothing to see there.