Willson Contreras Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Starting Cardinals catcher will wear special cleats to honor Yadier Molina

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 3/29/23

Yadier Molina, who retired after the close of the 2022 season, is a St. Louis Cardinals legend and an all-time great in the annals of baseball history. New Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras plans to honor Molina as such on opening day.

Contreras -- entering his first season with the Cardinals after spending the first seven years of his big league career with the rival Chicago Cubs -- plans on wearing custom cleats which pay homage to the 10-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer:

.@Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras will wear custom Yadier Molina tribute cleats for Opening Day pic.twitter.com/21dgxLcwpK
— MLB Life (@MLBLife) March 29, 2023

“To me, he owns the city. This is his city," Contreras said, as relayed by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

While Cubs fans might bristle at the thought of a player from their 2016 title team paying homage to a rival, Molina has earned that type of respect over the course of his legendary 19 season career. It goes beyond uniforms.

“I feel like I had to some kind of honor to him. … I think he deserves this and more,” Contreras said via Ryan Fagan of Sporting News.

Contreras, a three-time All-Star, signed a five year contract worth $87.5 million over the offseason. His average annual salary works out to $17.5 million.

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