MLB teams
Mark Saxon, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Bengie Molina wants more Hispanic managers, eyes managerial gig himself

MLB, St. Louis Cardinals

PHOENIX -- Bengie Molina thinks it's about time Major League Baseball starts giving more opportunities to Hispanic managerial candidates, and on Wednesday, Molina said he would like to one day throw his hat in the ring to manage a team.

Molina, a two-time Gold Glove winner and member of three World Series teams, has close ties to the longest-tenured manager in the major leagues, Mike Scioscia, and is the older brother of St. Louis Cardinals star Yadier Molina. Bengie Molina played 12 seasons in the major leagues, and he served as an assistant hitting coach for the Cardinals and a first-base coach for the Texas Rangers.

Asked whether he thinks there should be more opportunities for Hispanic managers, Molina, who is from Puerto Rico, said, "Of course, man," and mentioned Sandy Alomar Jr., Joey Cora, Edwin Rodriguez and Jose Oquendo as other qualified managerial candidates. Fredi Gonzalez of the Atlanta Braves is the only current Hispanic manager, and with the Braves off to a 4-16 start, he could be on the hot seat if their fortunes don't change.

"We've got so many guys who understand the game very, very well, and I think they could do it," Molina said.

Out of baseball this season, Molina was at Chase Field this week to visit the Cardinals and spend time with his brother Yadier. The middle Molina brother, Jose, also played in the major leagues and is now coaching in the Los Angeles Angels' system.

Bengie Molina played for Scioscia on the Angels and for three-time World Series-winning manager Bruce Bochy in San Francisco. Bengie worked on Mike Matheny's Cardinals staff in 2013. All three of those managers are former big league catchers. Molina thinks he could do it one day, too.

"The main reason for me is just to see if I can put what I learned through the years in play and make players better, if I can make a team play better, make a team win, not me by myself, but to contribute to that," Molina said. "That's my biggest reason."

Roughly 30 percent of major league players are from Latin America.

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