Islay "Izzy" Molina (born June 3, 1971 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, New York) is an American former professional baseball

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). Molina is not related to the brothers Bengie,

Jose Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya * Jose the Galilea ...

, and

Yadier Molina Yadier Benjamín Molina (; born July 13, 1982), nicknamed "Yadi", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely considered one of the grea ...

, although like Izzy, all three are catchers.

Career

Molina was drafted out of high school by the Oakland Athletics in the 22nd round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft and made his professional debut that same year for the

Arizona League Athletics The Arizona Complex League Athletics are a Minor League Baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, which plays as a Rookie-level team in the Arizona Complex League and has served as a farm team for the Oakland Athletics organization since 1988. T ...

where he batted .339 in 39 games. He made his major league debut for Oakland on August 15, . Molina left the Athletics via

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

after the season. On October 26, 1998, he signed with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

, but was traded to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

with Ben Ford for Darren Holmes in

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. Over the next three years, Molina did not play in the majors while spending time in the minors with the Yankees, Royals, and Blue Jays organization. He signed a minor-league contract with the Baltimore Orioles on November 20, 2001.Izzy Molina (statistics & history) – Baseball-Reference.com.
/ref> He began the 2002 season with the Double-A Bowie Baysox and was promoted to the Triple-A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

. Two weeks after his contract was purchased from the Red Wings on May 3, he cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Baysox on May 17. During this stint he made his only appearance with the Orioles in a 9–4 defeat to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

Camden Yards The Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a baseball stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early ...

on May 6. He had a fifth-inning

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in three at bats and scored a run as the starting catcher.Cleveland Indians 9, Baltimore Orioles 4; Monday, May 6, 2002 (N) at Oriole Park at Camden Yards – Retrosheet.
/ref> Molina last played professional baseball in with the Orioles Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A teams.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Molina, Izzy 1971 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona League Athletics players Baseball players from New York (state) Baltimore Orioles players Bowie Baysox players Columbus Clippers players Edmonton Trappers players Huntsville Stars players Major League Baseball catchers Madison Muskies players Modesto A's players Oakland Athletics players Ottawa Lynx players Reno Silver Sox players Rochester Red Wings players Sportspeople from New York City Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tacoma Tigers players Christopher Columbus High School (Miami-Dade County, Florida) alumni