Cardinals Rookies Using Accomplishments of Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina for Motivation

When the St. Louis Cardinals hold the Saturday ceremony to celebrate the careers of soon-to-be Hall of Famers Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, manager Oliver Marmol said MLB’s youngest roster will be seated in the dugout and attentive to the proceedings.

Even though some of the Cardinals players weren’t even born yet when Pujols broke into the big leagues in 2001 and were just babies when Molina made his MLB debut, Marmol wants that group to soak the greatness surrounding them. He wants them to see Busch Stadium filled with more than 40,000 fans and likely throbbing with emotion at times. Most importantly, Marmol wants youngsters like Joshua Baez, Leo Bernal, Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn and others to see what Cardinals baseball at its best – something that Pujols and Molina embodied throughout their careers – and dream about what it could be like when they help the franchise win in a big way in the future.

“We honored the ’06 (World Series champion) team tonight and some of our guys got to witness that and (on Saturday) it will be special because this place will be packed out,” Marmol said. “I want them to understand that when you do it well and you give everything you have to this organization and play the right way the way (Pujols and Molina) did … I want them to feel what it feels like to play here.

“I want everybody to take that in because it’s going to be a special day. Being young, being in that dugout and witnessing that, I think that can be pretty impactful.”

With National Baseball Hall of Famers Tony La Russa and Scott Rolen and Cardinals Hall of Famers Chris Carpenter, Jim Edmonds, Jason Isringhausen, José Oquendo, Pujols and Molina and World Series MVP David Eckstein and NLCS MVP Jeff Suppan looking on Friday night, the Cardinals throttled the White Sox 7-3 behind big performances from Baez (3 for 4, 2 RBI), Bernal (3 for 4, 2 RBI), Alec Burleson (2 for 4, 2 RBI) and Walker (2 for 4). They combined to go 10 for 16 with five doubles and six RBI. Just being in the presence of players the ilk of Pujols and Molina proved inspiring, Baez said.

“It’s so much fun being able to play in front of big crowds and to have the noise and support of the home fans, that’s something you always want,” said Baez, who set MLB history back on Aug. 15 when he homered in the first three at bats of his MLB career. “We want to show what we can do in front of (the 2006 team and the Hall of Fame players). I mean (Pujols) was unbelievable and one of the best right-handed batters ever.”

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Bernal, 22, kept the hot start to his MLB career going with the first three-hit game in the big leagues. He doubled and scored in the second inning and then racked up two more RBI by driving in Baez following his doubles in the fifth and seventh innings. In 10 big-league games, Bernal is hitting .325 (13 for 40) with two homers, two doubles and 12 RBI. The 12 RBI in the first 10 games are the most by any player in the storied history of the Cardinals.

Bernal made sure to point out after Friday’s win how impactful Molina – a coaching assistant – has been on his blossoming career.

“I worked with (Molina) in Spring Training and he came to Memphis one time, and obviously every time we have a conversation, I try to take advantage of it with everything he says,” Bernal said via translator Kleininger Teran. “We keep in contact and he always gives me good advice. I want to try to get everything I can from Yadi.”

Bernal said he will be listening intently to the speeches given on Saturday by Pujols and Molina. Someday, he said, he hopes he can be in a similar spot with plenty of World Series wins and a Hall of Fame-worthy career on his resume.

“When you see the legacy that those guys have had on this organization, that’s motivation and hopefully we can keep working and get close to what they did,” Bernal said. “It’s motivating to see players like that and hopefully we can achieve what they did, too.”