Association Baseball announces Yadier Molina as manager of the World Baseball Classic

Foreshadowed for weeks and expected to be an immediate announcement by last night’s Primera Hora. Puerto Rico Baseball Association The Major Leagues’ veteran catcher announced this Thursday afternoon, Yadier MolinaAs the new manager of the Puerto Rico national team 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Similarly, the Houston Astros have named respected former scout Joey Zola as their ninth new general manager to fill the void left a few weeks ago when he resigned due to disagreements with Eduardo Perez. Baseball Federation President Dr. Jose Guilles Rosas. In fact, the main difference was his promise to name him the tournament captain along with Molina without informing Perez, who had done all the recruiting work for Jose Espada, who had been rejected by the Quiles. to go

The announcement was made via a recorded message on YouTube, in which Guils Rosas praised the merits of both Molina and Sola as elected, as well as the baseball federation “fulfilling its responsibility.” Be the appointee of the ninth directors.

Regarding the appointment of Molina specifically, Quiles Rosas said that he selected the player who was the “captain and soul of the team” for Puerto Rico in the last two editions of the World Baseball Classic.

Thus, Molina, who had already announced his retirement from baseball at the end of the season last year, will replace Edwin Rodriguez, who led the team to world runner-up finishes in 2013 and 2017, to continue in command of the team due to disagreements with the top staff of the Baseball Federation.

Molina says it’s an honor to represent Puerto Rico as a manager

“It’s an honor to represent Puerto Rico in this way, an honor to wear Puerto Rico on your chest and be with the team. We hope that with God’s help everything will go well,” Molina highlighted in the recorded message.

A still receiver from Cardenas de San Luis, he feels ready for the task.

“I’m well prepared and feel very proud. I’ve played in the major leagues for many years, 19 years, and I’ve had a lot of success as a player. I know things are very different as a manager, but with the team of coaches I have by my side, I’m sure things will be better.” Hope so,” he noted. Jose ‘Ceydo’ Oquendo, the former president of Puerto Rico in the first two editions of the World Baseball Classic, uses the position without revealing the names of his accompanying staff. Ninth bench coach.

After captaining the WBC in past editions, Molina will take over the reigns of the Puerto Rican team with nearly two decades of success as a star catcher in the majors.

“Yadir Molina has the leadership, commitment and knowledge needed to lead Puerto Rico to the long-awaited World Baseball Classic. He enjoys the respect of team members and the affection of sports fans in Puerto Rico. He knows how to handle the format of the event and carefully study his opponents.” , Guilles Rosas insisted that he likes being a manager who gives first chances to trainees and thus values ​​the opportunity given to Molina.

In fact, he highlighted that it was precisely him who gave Molina his first chance in 2017 when he was named the pilot of the national under-23 team. . He recalled that Molina will also make his debut as a manager at a professional level this winter, commanding the Navegantes de Magallanes team in action in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.

“I’ve always believed in giving first chances and the results have been positive. Yadier Molina qualified for Puerto Rico for the first time for the U23 World Cup, as well as medalist Juan ‘Igor’ Gonzalez for the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games and the 2019 Pan American Games. Gold in both events.” , founded Quiles Rosas.

For his part, Guilles Rosas cited 15 years of experience as a scout for the Houston Astros for Sola. He was responsible for signing star players Carlos Correa and Kick Hernandez. Roberto Clemente served as General Manager and Assistant General Manager of the Congrejeros de Santerres in the Professional Baseball League. He currently works at the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy & High School, where he served as Dean of Students. In addition, he qualified for his first World Cup for the U-15 national team as a captain in this year’s qualifiers in Mexico.

“Joey Sola is a first-class professional who knows all the structures of baseball with an extensive career. He is respectful, a good communicator and has the necessary qualities to fulfill the important task he is responsible for,” said Quiles Rosas. Confirmation of members of the coaching staff accompanying the president and 50 players on the FBPR agenda. Prepares preliminary list.