ST. LOUIS — 2022 will be the end of an era in St. Louis. Officially. Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina signed a 1-year extension for his 19th season next year, but then, that's it. 2022 will be Molina's final ride.
"It will be my final season," Molina said Wednesday. "That's why my agent and myself came to Mo and told them that I want to stay here and get it done this early and not put the organization in free agency again. It's going to be my last year and I want to finish here in this great organization."
Molina and Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said they both wanted to come to a deal quickly, and not drag the situation out into the offseason.
"Last year, free agency was tough for me. I didn't want to go through it again," Molina said.
Molina, 39, said he's still in good shape, but he knew next year should be his last.
"It's enough. 19 years is a long career. My position is a tough one. Right now I would like to do my best. I'm gonna train my body hard. But it's hard to keep up with this game at a high level," Molina said. "Right now when you're 39, it's tough. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to finish strong next year and bring the trophy back to St. Louis this year and next year. That would be great. Win it back to back years and finish on a winning season. But it's enough. It's going to be my last year next year. I'm happy for my career. That's it."
The likely future Hall of Famer said he's seen some of the final season send-off's other Hall of Fame level players have gotten in the past, and he's hoping fans around baseball can send him off that way as well.
"I was thinking, going to Cincinnati and hearing all the 'boos' there and going to Chicago and hearing all the 'boos' there, it's going to be awesome. It's going to be a great time going there and getting the boos," Molina said. "When you see Derek Jeter, David Ortiz and Mariano Rivera do the same thing in their last years, and the appreciation the fans have for the players that do a good job on the baseball field, it's awesome. You want to be part of that. Hopefully the people respond to that for me, and it would be great for me. It would be awesome."
Molina's longtime batterymate Adam Wainwright is still unsigned for 2022. The catcher is hoping Wainwright and the Cardinals can come to an agreement, so the two buddies can perhaps finish their careers together right where they started them.
"I love this man. I love Waino as a human being. He's a great teammate, he's a great person and I would love to finish my career with him," Molina said.
It won't be long after his career that Molina will head into the Cardinals' Hall of Fame, get a statue outside Busch Stadium and take his place among the franchise's immortals. And he can't wait for that, too.
"I can't wait to put that red jacket on. I've been 18, 19, 20, 21 years being a part of this organization. Witnessing how they take care of the legends in this organization it's great. I want to do that too," Molina said. "When you have guys like Lou Brock, Red Schoendienst and all those guys... rest in peace. You feel like you want to be part of that, what they leave after baseball and after their career. You think about, you want to be part of that. You want to come over here and experience the moments and games over here when you retire and I'm looking forward to do that."