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If the legacy and memory of world-class exploits on a baseball diamond are going to hang over every catcher who ever puts on a mask for the Cardinals like an anvil, then that’s a travesty and a blemish upon “the best fans in baseball.�

And yes, there’s a difference between pushing someone to be the best version of themselves and trying to force someone into a mold that wasn’t made for them and that only ever fit one person.

Ivan Herrera’s historic offensive onslaught, seen by just a smattering of spectators Wednesday in Busch Stadium, provided a perfect reminder: You can’t remake any of the legends of yesteryear by trying to remold current players.

The current players have got their own weaknesses as well as their own strengths. Maximizing and improving upon those, that’s the goal.

Herrera clobbered three home runs (on three different types of pitches) and drove in six runs. He outproduced the Los Angeles Angels offense by himself. He also became the first catcher in Cardinals history with a three-homer game, the first player ever to hit two homers into Big Mac Land in the same game as well as the youngest ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ catcher to have a multi-homer game since Hall of Famer Ted Simmons in 1974. Herrera also set the franchise single-game record for total bases by a Cardinals catcher (12).

Afterward, Herrera spoke about how Molina’s presence as a catcher in the organization made him sign with the Cardinals. Then, Herrera felt compelled to acknowledge that he knows there are fans who will judge him harshly because his defense — specifically, his throwing — doesn’t live up to Molina.

“For me, he’s still one of the best catchers in this game,� Herrera said of Molina. “I’m trying to get the defense right (for) people that liked watching him. I’m trying to get to that level one day.�

Even on the day he described as the best of his career, Herrera felt the need to bend the knee and show deference to Molina’s legacy to appease those folks who will never stop making the comparison.

Herrera threw out just 4 of 59 base stealers last season. That’s a rate of 6.8% in a league where the league threw out 20.3% of runners in 2024. That’s why the 24-year-old native of Panama spent the offseason working with Driveline Baseball to strengthen his arm and retool his throwing.

Talking to him the day before the season opener, Herrera felt his overall defense was the best it had been in his career. He worked with major league coach Jamie Pogue and new minor league catching coordinator Ethan Goforth in Jupiter, Florida, and he came away feeling good about his work behind the plate. That includes blocking and receiving — two areas where he edged out teammate Pedro Pages last season according to MLB Statcast metrics.

Herrera wants to be confident about his defense, but he knows better. The bar Cardinals followers will measure him against is Molina. He’ll lose every time in that comparison, so he kowtows.

If your bar for evaluating a center fielder is Willie Mays, then nobody measures up. If your bar for evaluating a slugger is Albert Pujols, then none of them hold a candle to Albert. If your bar for measuring a shortstop’s defense is Ozzie Smith, then none of them are capable of wizardry.

You can take the position that any player who gets beaten down by the comparisons probably wasn’t going to hold up anyway.

I’m guilty of thinking that way in the past, but I’ve also realized that’s just a thick-headed approach when you’re dealing with young players who are still developing.

It also overlooks the fact Herrera is simply a different type of catcher than Molina, and the league has a lot of catchers who are different than Molina.

Several of the game’s best teams have decided that there’s value in consistent offensive production from the catcher position. They’ve prioritized that, and they’ve still had success.

The World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers have an offense-oriented backstop in Will Smith, who averaged 22 homers and a slash line of .257/.348/.456 from 2021-24. Smith ranked 63rd among MLB catchers in blocking and 58th in framing in 2024.

To be fair, Smith threw out 33% of runners last season.

The San Diego Padres reaped the benefits of Kyle Higashioka’s 17-homer season (in 84 games) in 2024. Last year, the American League champion New York Yankees’ rookie catcher Austin Wells made former Gold Glove winner Jose Trevino expendable. Trevino joined the Cincinnati Reds this season.

The Houston Astros moved away from catcher Martin Maldonado, a Gold Glove winner regarded as one of the elite catchers in the majors at receiving, game calling and throwing. They turned the reins over to Yainer Diaz in 2023 and 2024, and he responded by batting .293 and averaging 20 home runs per season.

Herrera isn’t putting all his eggs into the offensive basket. He knows that the Cardinals can’t afford to watch opponents turn singles into doubles or doubles into triples at will. He’ll continue working to refine his throwing during the season. At times, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol has removed Herrera late in games in favor of Pages to control the running game.

Willson Contreras dealt with the Molina shadow as Molina’s immediate successor at catcher. Contreras moved to first base this season. I asked him about his message to Herrera.

“Control what you can control,� Contreras said. “I think nowadays the runner has a lot of advantage, to be honest. We need to do a better job taking care of the runners when he’s behind the plate. I’m not saying that the pitchers don’t do a good job, but we all know that — I don’t want to say he’s weak — what he’s able to do with his receiving and his bat is better than anything else.

“I think that’s one thing I’m trying to talk him through. Don’t feel bad if the manager makes the choice to pull you to put Pages behind you because we’re winning by two or three. Just control what you can control and do the best for seven, eight, nine innings, whatever you’re going to play.�

Perhaps games like Wednesday will help that message sink in for Herrera.