When the Cardinals open their series against the Brewers on Friday, Adam Wainwright will throw his first pitch of the game to Yadier Molina. It’s a given: If Molina is healthy and Wainwright is pitching, they will start together. They have done so 25 times already this year.

It’s Brunswick, Ga., and Bayamón, Puerto Rico, coming together every five days to play catch. From the mound in Milwaukee, it will mark 300 times—a milestone only three other sets of batterymates have reached before them. (And a tally that doesn’t include 14 more games started together in the postseason.)

The others? Mikey Lolich and Bill Freehan (324 starts). Warren Spahn and Del Crandall (316). Red Faber and Ray Schalk (306).

“It’s really a mind-blowing number, for me,” said Cardinals manager Mike Shildt. “It speaks to the longevity. It speaks to each of their ability to compete well. It speaks well to the fact they want to stay in an organization for as long as they have. It’s really an amazing, amazing accomplishment for both of them.”

Earlier this week, venerable Cardinals backstop Yadier Molina announced that—after signing a one-year extension with the Cardinals—2022 would be his final season. Once his farewell tour ends, it will bring to an end a 19-year career all with the Cardinals. It’s a career that includes 10 All-Star Games, nine Gold Gloves, four Platinum Gloves, two World Series titles and plenty of adulation from the St. Louis area and beyond.

Once Molina has been retired for five years, he’ll be on the Hall of Fame ballot. His case is a perplexing one at the intersection of numbers and the so-called intangibles.

In JAWS, Molina ranks 22nd all-time among catchers, well below the average Hall of Fame catcher and trailing contemporary players like Jason Kendall and Jorge Posada. Joe Mauer is seventh and Buster Posey is 14th (and counting). Gene Tenace and Bill Freehan are among other non-HOF types rating well ahead of Molina here. If we go strictly by WAR, Molina is 20th and still well below the average Hall of Fame catcher, sitting the ballpark of Kendall and Posada.

Longevity has to count for something, though, and Molina’s racked up some impressive counting stats, given his position. His 2,090 career hits are 10th among catchers, sitting above the likes of Johnny Bench, Bill Dickey and Gabby Hartnett. His 397 doubles are seventh and he has a shot to get to third (Mauer is currently third with 428). With 983 RBI, he’s 17 away from becoming the 15th catcher to get to 1,000.

Yadier Molina is returning to the St. Louis Cardinals for a 19th season in 2022.

Per Katie Woo of The Athletic, Molina agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract extension Tuesday.

There had been speculation during the season that Molina and the Cardinals were working toward a new deal. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Aug. 19 that both sides were “encouraged” by their recent discussions.

Woo and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic noted Molina was seeking a one-year deal worth more than the $9 million he received in 2021.

Stalwart Yadier Molina will start Wednesday’s game behind the plate for the Cardinals and that’s nothing new. He started 10 of the team’s first 11 games this season and has been a rock behind the plate for close to two decades now. Wednesday’s start is historic though. It will be Molina’s 2,000th career game at catcher.

Here is the all-time games caught leaderboard:

Ivan Rodriguez: 2,427 games
Carlton Fisk: 2,226 games
Bob Boone: 2,225 games
Gary Carter: 2,056 games
Jason Kendall: 2,025 games
Yadier Molina: 2,000 games and counting
Molina is the only one of those six catchers to spend his entire career with one team.