St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina throws out runner after daring them to steal

Over the years, attempting to steal a base against Yadier Molina has been a fool’s errand. The St. Louis Cardinals‘ catcher has been one of the best defensive catchers in the game, leading the league in caught stealing percentage four times while displaying a cannon for an arm. Even as he continues to age, Molina has continued to be a force when it comes to stopping the opponent’s running game.

That was on display on Sunday. Molina threw out Astros baserunner Jose Siri after daring him to steal second base during their spring training matchup.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina proves he’s still got it

This moment of complete and utter humiliation is entirely on Siri. After Molina attempted to pick him off in the seventh inning, Siri decided to taunt him, shaking his head no as if to say that there was no chance the Cardinals’ great would be able to get him.

That shall go down as Siri’s first mistake. Molina dared the Astros speedster to steal second against him, itching to gun down the minor leaguer and send him back to the bench in humiliation. After a foul ball and a pitch high, Molina called for a 2-2 changeup. That was the moment that Siri took Molina up on his offer.

While the changeup may have been the right pitch to go on, taking the bait was Siri’s second mistake. Molina made a perfect throw to second, with his laser reaching second before Siri was even in the picture. He was easily caught stealing, ending the inning and leaving Molina victorious in that battle.

Eventually, Father Time will catch up with Molina. His bat is showing signs of age, as he is beginning to slip at the plate. However, that has not impacted his arm, as Molina still threw out 45% of would be base stealers last year. Based on his throw on Sunday, his arm is still as strong as ever.

Yadier Molina sent a reminder to everyone on Sunday – do not run on him. The St. Louis Cardinals catcher used Jose Siri to illustrate that point.