Molina replaces Posey on NL All-Star team

ST. LOUIS -- Despite missing a month due to injury, Yadier Molina built a first-half resume strong enough to earn his ninth career All-Star selection.
Molina was named to the National League team on Monday as a replacement for San Francisco's Buster Posey, who will not participate in next week's Midsummer Classic due to a right hip injury. Molina will be one of three catchers on the NL team, joining Chicago's Willson Contreras and Miami's J.T. Realmuto.
"It's a great honor for me to be a part of this game," Molina said. "We've got so many good catchers in the league. Obviously, Contreras is one of them. Realmuto is another. I'm glad to be [among] the three catchers going to the All-Star Game, and spending time with them is going be a great time."
This All-Star invite ties Molina with Bob Gibson and Albert Pujols, each of whom earned nine such selections as Cardinals. Only Joe Medwick (10), Red Schoendienst (10), Enos Slaughter (10), Ken Boyer (11), Ozzie Smith (14) and Stan Musial (24) had more. Since his first All-Star selection in 2009, Molina has been left off the NL roster only once.
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At the age of 35, Molina is in the midst of his best offensive season since 2012, when he finished fourth in the NL Most Valuable Player Award vote. His .495 slugging percentage ranks second-best among NL catchers, and he leads NL catchers with 13 home runs. Molina ranks third at his position in the NL in RBIs (38) and fourth in batting average (.279).
"I feel good," Molina said. "I've been working hard, and at this point in my career, I feel younger. I feel good, so hopefully I'll stay like that."
This marks the third consecutive season that the Cardinals have placed two players on the All-Star team, as starting pitcher Miles Mikolas learned on Sunday that he had been named a first-time All-Star. There's a chance the Cardinals may add a third to the mix, too, as Matt Carpenter is one of five National League players vying for a roster spot as part of the 2018 Camping World MLB Final Vote.
Fans can cast votes for the final player on each league's roster -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online, as well as via the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark mobile apps, until Wednesday at 3 p.m. CT.
On Tuesday, July 17, while watching the 2018 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard live on FOX, fans can submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2018 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote.
The 89th Midsummer Classic, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 180 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish-language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage.
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