With the final out of the fifth inning and four more innings behind the plate Saturday, Molina tied and then moves past Hall of Famer Johnny Bench for career innings caught. He did so in Cincinnati, the place Bench called and manned home. Molina ranks 13th all-time with 14,493 1/3 innings caught. That surpasses Bench’s 14,489 and puts Ted Simmons’ 15,692 1/3 innings next. To crack the top 10, Molina would need to leapfrog Brad Ausmus’ 15,840 2/3 innings.
“It may not mean as much to him as it does to someone like me who idolized Johnny Bench,” manager Mike Matheny said.