Minor leagues On May 21, 1993,
scout Ray Poitevint of the
Anaheim Angels was in Vega Alta to evaluate José. The boys' mother convinced Poitevint to examine Bengie too, and a workout was arranged. Bengie impressed Poitevint with his ability to hit
line drives, but his slow baserunning threatened to be an obstacle to an MLB career. "Here's a catcher's mitt. Why don't you throw down to second base, and we'll see what it looks like?" Poitevint asked. Two days later, the Angels had signed Bengie to a $1,000 contract as a catcher for their organization. Molina said several elements of the shortstop position translated well to catching, such as the needs to throw accurately, block the baseball, and move the hands quickly. After serving as a
designated hitter for the
Cedar Rapids Kernels in 1994, he made it all the way to the
Class AAA level in 1995, though he spent most of the season with
Class A teams and missed time with a broken wrist. Nevertheless, following an injury to one of the Midland catchers, Molina was promoted back to Class AA. At this time, the
Los Angeles Times referred to him as "Ben" Molina. Molina also played one other game for the Angels before the end of the season. He spent most of the season with the Angels' Class AAA club, now the
Edmonton Trappers, batting .286 with 69
hits, seven
home runs, and 41
runs batted in (RBI). This time, he started many of the Angels' games. Molina's season ended on September 16, when he suffered a strained left hamstring while running the bases. In 31 games (101
at bats), he batted .257 with 26 hits, one home run, and 10 RBI. On May 12, he hit two home runs in a game for what would be the only time in his career, scoring four runs and recording four hits as well, though the effort came in a 13–11 loss to the
Texas Rangers. The game was the beginning of a 14-game
hitting streak lasting through June 2, in which Molina batted .517. In 130 games, Molina batted .281 with 133 hits, 14 home runs, and 71 RBI. Prior to the 2001 season, the Angels signed Molina to a four-year contract worth $4.25 million, keeping him under contract through 2004, with a $3 million club option or $100,000 buyout for the 2005 season. However, he was on the
disabled list from May 5 through June 26, having strained his right hamstring. "This was our dream as kids – to play baseball in the majors. We never thought we'd be together on the same team," Bengie said. The brothers would remain teammates at the catcher position through the 2005 season, the first siblings to catch for the same MLB team since
Amos and
Lave Cross caught for the
Louisville Colonels in 1887. Molina started every game at catcher for the Angels in the postseason. He had a two-RBI
double against
Ramiro Mendoza in Game 4 of the
AL Division Series (ALDS), as the Angels defeated the
New York Yankees 9–5 to win the series three games to one. Overall, Molina batted .267 with four hits and two RBI in the series. He batted .214 with three hits and two RBI as the Angels defeated the Twins in five games. In Game 4, his eighth inning
passed ball allowed
J. T. Snow to go to second base, where he scored the deciding run on a
David Bell single as the Angels went on to lose 4–3. After the Giants took a 1–0 lead in the first inning of Game 7, Molina had an RBI double against
Liván Hernández to tie the game in the bottom of the inning. The Angels went on to prevail 4–1 for their first World Series championship. Overall, Molina batted .286 with six hits and two RBI in the series. In 119 games (409 at bats), Molina batted .281 with 115 hits, 14 home runs, and 71 RBI. Defensively, he had a .993 fielding percentage and threw out an AL-leading 44% of attempted base stealers, winning his second consecutive Gold Glove Award. In his first game back, on April 13, he hit a two-run home run against
Joel Piñeiro as the Angels defeated the
Seattle Mariners 7–5. With speculation that the Angels might choose to promote 2001 first-round draft pick
Jeff Mathis in 2005 rather than pick up Molina's $3 million option, Molina refused to speak with reporters until mid-August. That November, the Angels decided to pick up Molina's $3 million club option for the 2005 season. On July 31, he and José both hit home runs against
Randy Johnson in an 8–7 loss to the Yankees. In 119 games (410 at bats), he batted a career-high .295 with 121 hits, 15 home runs, and 69 RBI. Against the Yankees in the
ALDS, Molina homered in each of the first three games. He batted .444 with five RBI in the series as the Angels defeated the Yankees in five games. Against the
Chicago White Sox in the
ALCS, he batted just .118 as Chicago defeated the Angels in five games. After signing with the Blue Jays, Molina expressed his anger at the Angels over how he parted company with them. "The way they let me go without a notice, without calling me, that said a lot," Molina said. "They never let me know. They just threw me like a piece of trash." However, Molina's agent Alan Nero later clarified that the Angels did indeed inform Molina of their decision.
Toronto Blue Jays (2006) Molina got off to a slow start to the 2006 season, throwing out only 13% of baserunners in the season's first two months and getting outhit by backup catcher
Gregg Zaun. Ultimately, manager
John Gibbons decided to use a
platoon system, with Zaun getting several of the starts against right-handed pitchers. Molina was one of Toronto's most consistent hitters in August. Against the
Seattle Mariners on the 14th of that month, he caught all 14 innings of a game, ending the contest with a
walk-off RBI single against
Emiliano Fruto. In 117 games (433 at bats), he batted .284 with 123 hits, 19 home runs, and 57 RBI. On May 7, he hit two home runs in the fifth inning of a 9–4 win over the Mets, becoming the first Giant with two home runs in an inning since
Willie McCovey in 1977. Molina also had five RBI in the game. Molina hit his 100th home run on September 5, 2007, off of
Jorge Julio in the sixth inning of a 5–3 victory against the
Colorado Rockies. In a pregame ceremony on September 21, Molina was announced as the winner of the
Willie Mac Award, which recognizes the Giant with the most spirit and leadership. He got the most out of 1,617 fan votes. In the first inning of the game against the Reds, Molina recorded career RBI number 500 in the bottom of the first on a single that scored
Dave Roberts. However, the Giants eventually lost 9–8 in 11 innings. However, his 78 RBI as a catcher were at the time the second most in a season by a San Francisco Giant, trailing only
Dick Dietz's 104 in 1970. He had a 10-game hitting streak from May 17 to 28, winning the NL
Player of the Week Award for May 19 through 25 after batting .652 with six doubles, a home run, and nine RBI. He batted .333 through June 9, then hit only .200 over his next 34 games through July 26, dropping his batting average to .282. During that stretch, however, he hit two home runs on July 22 in a 6–3 win over the
Washington Nationals. He had a game-ending
sacrifice fly on August 20 in a 6–5 win over the
Florida Marlins. Molina received the Willie Mac Award for the second year in a row on September 26. During the game that night against the Dodgers, he became the first player in MLB history to hit a home run and not get credit for a
run scored. In the sixth inning, he hit a ball off the right field wall at
AT&T Park. The umpire said the ball was in fair play, and Molina wound up at first base.
Emmanuel Burriss immediately ran out to first base to pinch run for him, as Giants manager
Bruce Bochy discussed the matter with the umpires. After examining instant replay, the umpires ruled the hit a home run but refused Bochy the opportunity to reinsert Molina into the game, meaning Burriss was credited with the run. San Francisco continued the game under protest but won 6–5 in the 10th inning. In a career-high 145 games and 530 at bats, Molina batted .292 with 16 home runs and a career-high 95 RBI. He led the major leagues with 11 sacrifice flies. Defensively, he had a .995 fielding percentage and threw out 35% of attempted base stealers. His pinch-hit, 10th-inning double drove in the only run of the game in a victory over the Padres on April 22. After starting his career 0 for 12 against
Jason Marquis, he hit two home runs and had four RBI against the pitcher in an 8–3 win over the Rockies. With two strikes on him and two outs in the eighth inning against the Diamondbacks on August 27, Molina hit a three-run home run against
Chad Qualls, helping the Giants come from behind to win 4–3. His eighth-inning home run against
Todd Coffey snapped a tie and provided the winning margin in a 3–2 victory over the Brewers on September 4. On September 29, he hit two home runs and had four RBI in an 8–4 win over the Diamondbacks. In 132 games (491 at bats), he batted .265 with 130 hits, a career-high 20 home runs, and 80 RBI. Defensively, he had a .995 fielding percentage and threw out 23% of attempted base stealers. Following the 2009 season, sportswriter Daniel Brown called Molina "one the greatest offensive catchers in Giants history". He had four hits and four RBI on April 12 in a 6–1 victory over the
Pittsburgh Pirates. He batted .344 in April but hit only .212 in the season's following two months. In 61 games (202 at bats) for the Giants, Molina batted .257 with three home runs and seventeen RBI. The deal was made official the next day. With the Rangers, Molina replaced
Matt Treanor as the starting catcher, though he and Treanor split playing time beginning in late August. On July 16, Molina
hit for the cycle in an 8–4 victory over Boston. He had (in order) a single, a double, a
grand slam home run, and a triple, leaving the game with a minor leg injury after the triple. Teammate
Michael Young was surprised that Molina accomplished the feat at
Fenway Park, thinking the stadium's small dimensions would not allow the ball to get far enough away from the outfielders for the slow-running Molina to make it to third base for the required triple. In 57 games (175 at bats) for the Rangers, he batted .240 with 42 hits, two home runs, and 19 RBI. His combined totals between the two ballclubs were 118 games (377 at bats), 94 hits, five home runs, and 36 RBI. Defensively, he had a .993 fielding percentage and again threw out 23% of attempted base stealers. In Game 1 of the
ALDS, Molina had three hits, a home run, and two RBI in a 5–1 victory over the
Tampa Bay Rays. He
stole a base for the first time since 2006 in Game 5 as the Rangers again defeated Tampa Bay 5–1, eliminating the Rays. In Game 4 of the
ALCS, with two outs in the sixth inning and the Rangers trailing the Yankees 3–2, Molina hit a three-run home run against
A. J. Burnett as the Rangers went on to win 10–3. The Rangers won the ALCS in six games, reaching the World Series for the first time in franchise history. Since the Giants also made it to the
World Series, Molina became the sixth player to play for both World Series teams in the same season, which guaranteed him a
World Series ring regardless of who won. He batted .182 with one RBI as the Rangers lost the series in five games. ==Legacy==