Cardinals' Molina brothers cherish their first shared October

By COREY NOLES

While the St. Louis Cardinals and October seem to go together like bread and butter, for a pair of Cardinals this season has been extra special.

For years, Cardinals assistant hitting coach Bengie Molina has hoped a situation would arise where he could play with one of his younger brothers Yadier or Jose.

He's not technically "playing" with Yadi, but the two are together on a baseball field in a way they haven't been in years.

"It's unbelievable to be able to enjoy this moment with him," Bengie Molina said during the celebration following the Cardinals clinch of an NLCS berth. "He is the man out there."

He was quite emotional when talking of his younger brother. Many relatives were in the clubhouse with the brothers to share in their moment.

"Just to be able to have this time with him is absolutely amazing," he said.

Despite the "happy family" narrative, Bengie Molina made it abundantly clear that the reason he is in St. Louis is because he believes in these players.

"Everything that's happened here is what I expected from these guys," he said. "They've been awesome. They like to work and understand how to win games. That's what it's all about. I wouldn't come here if I didn't think they would be able to play like this."

Bengie Molina, a World Series champion himself, still wants to win. What better way to do that than with his brother?

Since he's "been there, done that," Yadier Molina knows what it takes to make that happen and he believes this team has it.

"We know that [the Dodgers] have a good team," he said. "They have a good offense, but so do we."

Molina, one of the Cardinals' two MVP candidates, is not one to talk about himself and Thursday night/Friday morning was no exception. All he wanted to talk about was his team and what they have been able to make happen.

When asked about Adam Wainwright's performance, he was borderline speechless.

"Unbelievable," Molina said. "That's the only word I can say. Unbelievable."

The interesting thing about that comment is that when you ask anyone else on that team--anyone--they say the same thing about Molina.

Molina is not just a superstar for this team--he's a special kind of player. Even if he never touched a baseball bat his value to this team would be difficult to measure.

Now, he's working to guide yet another team into late October. His brother, Bengie, whose own role shouldn't be underplayed, is just glad to be along for the ride.

--

Corey Noles is a Cardinals Writer and Columnist for The Daily Statesman. He is also a regular contributor to KSDK.com, StLSportsPage.com and Bleacher Report. Contact him at cnoles@dailystatesman.com or on Twitter @coreynoles.