Rangers Hire Bengie Molina

Oct 18, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals assistant hitting coach Bengie Molina before game six of the National League Championship Series baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Rangers today hired former Rangers catcher and cycle hitting Bengie Molina to be their first base coach and catching instructor. Molina spent one season as a Texas Ranger, and it happened to be the first ever season that the Texas Rangers made the World Series.

Molina was a fan favorite in 2010 and was best known for hitting for a very unlikely cycle in Boston. Molina was most recently the Cardinals assistant hitting coach, but he is leaving that position to come back to the Rangers as the first base coach/catching coach. Molina comes from a family of catchers, and was a great catcher during his career, and I think he is a good choice for both positions. He is still thought of fondly by Texas Rangers fans, and now that he will be back in the fold, I have a feeling that we will be seeing several replays of the cycle he hit in Fenway Park.

The Rangers now have seven coaches on staff after hiring Molina and Bobby Jones to be the assistant hitting coach. Still not a lot of player moves happening, but usually they don’t really happen during the GM meetings. I like both the Bobby Jones and the Bengie Molina moves, now lets see if the Rangers focus on pitching or hitting next!