As the publication "Viva El Birdos" wrote, "Yadier Molina broke into the majors as a light-hitting defensive specialist", who hit mostly singles. Molina pushed to shed the light-hitter label he had in common with his brothers. A fidgeter with his batting stance early in his career, Molina mimicked and vacillated between more accomplished hitters such as Andrés Galarraga and Albert Pujols. However, it was a dip in his swing and an inability to get around on fastballs that sapped his efforts. Over time, with assistance of teammates such as Pujols, Molina found his comfortable stance, sounder mechanics and adopted a line-drive style of swing that eliminated the dip and helped him hit fastballs with more authority.