OMAHA -- "They say true talent will always emerge in time," is a line in the Clash song "Hitsville U.K.", released in 1980, six years before Stanford first baseman Randy Molina was born. Still, it's a bit ironic that a line from Molina's favorite band could fit the player so well.
In 2005, Molina was a blue-chip freshman for the Stanford Cardinal, ranked No. 65 among Baseball America's 2004 Top 100 High School Prospects. Molina had been a discovery from Major League Baseball's RBI program, and with good grades, became a highly anticipated Stanford recruit. From there, however, opportunities were few and far between for the South Gate, Calif., native. In his first season as a Cardinal, he played in just six games, all as a pinch-hitter. In the next two seasons, Molina would only start 40 games, slugging just .333 in that tenure.
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"After not playing much last year with the lineup changes, I went up to summer ball with the mission that I was going to come back and get a starting spot," he said. "I went up to summer ball trying to hit for more power."
For Molina, the best inspiration for increasing his power supply came from imitation. He had watched his teammates closely, so when he joined up with the Madison Mallards in the Northwoods League for the third straight season, he used his fellow Cardinal players as examples while lengthening his swing.
" I tried to extend my arms more," Molina said. "And honestly, watching the other guys hit, Jason [Castro] and Sean [Ratliff] and [Brent] Milleville who, have more loft in their swing, I try to imitate them a little bit, and it's worked out."
Through imitation, Molina's true talent finally did come out. Molina hit .342 with the Mallards over the summer, including four home runs. In 2008, in his final season at Stanford, he hit just five long balls, though combined with 16 doubles, it was enough for a career-high .478 slugging percentage.
When he got back to campus at the end of the summer, Molina noticed a marked change not only in his game, but in the game of all his Cardinal teammates. Catcher Jason Castro, who had hit .167 in an injury-riddled 2007 season, would hit .380. Second baseman Cord Phelps, who entered 2008 without a home run after back problems in 2007, would hit 13.
"Since that first practice in the fall, you could tell it was a different team, especially after last season, not making the postseason," Molina said. "Everyone played better together, I think the talent level was up, and it was our mission."
The increased effort and talent paid off, as the Cardinal would go 41-24, taking Stanford back to Omaha for the first time since 2003.
But if working so hard on his game has cost Molina anything, it's an opportunity to continue an interest in his second love: music. The 22-year-old was a drummer in a high school band that covered songs from the early punk era, from The Ramones to, yes, The Clash.
"I started taking lessons in eighth grade, and I took lessons for a year and a half," he said. "Music has always been a passion, and I still go to a lot of concerts."
Once he got to college, however, drumming was swept under the rug. For now, Molina only fulfills his musical interest from the video game Rock Band -- "I love that game, it's my favorite" -- and during breaks from school.
"Whenever I go home, I always go to a friend's house and play some drums," he said.
However, despite a four-year break, Molina is not ready to give up on his passion.
"It's something I'd love to do, get a drum set and get back into it," he said. "After baseball, there will always be an opportunity to do other stuff when I'm not constantly at the field."
Don't take Molina's words wrong, though -- the first baseman could not be happier to be given a chance to continue his baseball career. The Seattle Mariners took Molina in the 42nd round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. Stanford has called its seven players taken in the Draft the "Magnificent Seven", which is, keeping with coincidence, the first song from "Sandinista!" the 1980 Clash album.
"Not playing so much last year, getting the attention some year ... it feels great," Molina said. "I was telling scouts it didn't matter where I went, I just wanted the opportunity to play."
Molina's final season with Stanford ended on Saturday, as the Cardinal were eliminated from the College World Series by the Georgia Bulldogs. So, as Molina moves onto the next step in his baseball career -- one, he hopes, that will delay a career behind the drum set -- it might just be best to channel the Clash song, "Justice Tonight":
Stay around, don't play around
This old town and all
Seems like I got to travel on ...
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