Bengie Molina
| Bengie Molina | |||
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Molina with the Texas Rangers
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| Catcher / Coach | |||
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Born: July 20, 1974 Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 21, 1998, for the Anaheim Angels | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 3, 2010, for the Texas Rangers | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .274 | ||
| Home runs | 144 | ||
| Runs batted in | 711 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Benjamin José "Bengie" Molina (born July 20, 1974), nicknamed "Big Money", is a former Major League Baseball catcher and a former first base coach and catching instructor for the Texas Rangers. He is the older brother of major league catchers José Molina and Yadier Molina.
Initially regarded as a "good glove, no hit" catcher with a strong arm and an exceptional ball blocker, Molina won a Gold Glove as the top defensive player at his position in consecutive seasons in 2002 and 2003. But he also developed into a very good contact hitter and free-swinging power hitter. Between 2000 and 2007, he struck out just 331 times, and in 2000 led the American League in average at-bats between strikeouts, with 14.3. He is the only player in history to hit a home run and not get credit for the run.
However, he was regarded as one of the slowest baserunners of his day.
Molina graduated from the Maestro Ladí High School with honors in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, and played shortstop for Arizona Western College in Yuma, Arizona, in 1991 and 1992.
Molina entered the major leagues by playing two games for the Anaheim Angels in 1998, and a handful of games in 1999. He became the Angels' regular catcher in 2000 and remained so through the 2005 season. Over his last few seasons with the Angels, his backup as catcher was his brother, José Molina. Molina got his first championship ring in 2002 after the Angels beat the San Francisco Giants in the 2002 World Series.
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