Molina family has three catchers in playoffs
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VEGA ALTA, Puerto Rico -- Gladys Matta wears three different necklaces at all times, one from each of her sons. Her eldest, Bengie Molina, gave her the first, which has a cross on it, for her birthday four years ago. When her other two sons, Jose and Yadier Molina, saw it, they rushed out and bought her necklaces imprinted with her name.
"If I take one of these off, I'm in trouble," says Mrs. Matta, who goes by her maiden name, a common practice in Puerto Rico.
All parents struggle to spread their affections evenly among their children, but Mrs. Matta and her husband, Benjamin Molina Sr., face an unusual challenge. They are the parents of three boys, all of whom play in the Major Leagues, all of whom are catchers and all of whom vie aggressively for their mother's attention. Upping the ante for Mrs. Matta, all three are in contention for a World Series ring this year.
Bengie Molina, 31 years old, is the starting catcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who are vying with the Chicago White Sox in the American League Championship Series. The middle son, Jose Molina, 30, is one of Bengie's two backups on the Angels. Yadier Molina, 23, starts for the St. Louis Cardinals, who were battling the Houston Astros in the National League finals.
Here in this rural town of 40,000 in north-central Puerto Rico, Mrs. Matta and Mr. Molina have earned a place in the baseball record books. Mrs. Matta is one of 19 women to have given birth to three sons playing in the Major Leagues at the same time, according to "The Baseball Almanac." Others on that list include Virginia Alou, whose ball-playing kids are Felipe (1958-'74), Matty (1960-'74) and Jesus (1963-'79) Alou; and Rosalie DiMaggio, mother of Vincent (1937-'46), Joe (1936-'51) and Dom (1940-'53) DiMaggio.
But Mrs. Matta is the only woman ever to be a mom to a trio of professional catchers. She alone accounts for a third of the catchers and backup catchers left in the playoffs this year. Catchers are an idiosyncratic breed to show up three times in one family. The position requires a rare combination of physical toughness and the tactical ability to effectively direct every pitch of every game.
First Published October 14, 2005 12:00 am
