Molina is the reason, Miller said, because of his impeccable pitch selection. Molina often arrives six hours before a game to prepare, but he is a master at improvisation based on clues he reads from his pitchers and opposing hitters.

“I’ve often heard guys say about Yadi, ‘Man, I feel like he’s a psychic,’ ” said Jonathan Lucroy, the Brewers’ catcher. “He knows what you’re thinking, and he does the exact opposite.”

Miller said he shook off Molina’s signs no more than five times a year. Kevin Siegrist, a Cardinals reliever who made 45 appearances last year, his rookie season, said he had never shaken off Molina. The veteran Adam Wainwright said he and Molina knew each other so well that they sometimes communicated signs by a simple look or shrug — no fingers necessary.

The factors behind Molina’s pitch selection usually, and understandably, remain a mystery. Molina, who calls every pitch on his own and often sets the defense, would gain nothing by explaining his hundreds of decisions each game. The youngest of three brothers, all major league catchers, Molina said his attention to detail came from a sense of duty.

“My family taught me about that, about being the leader, being there for your teammates and caring about everything during the game, after the game, before the game,” Molina, 31, said by his locker last week. “Just care about your teammates, care about the game, try to be good each day. That’s the way I do my part.”

When he entered the majors in 2004, Molina said, he cared so much about defense and helping the pitchers that he did not have time to concentrate properly on his offense. In 2006 — the year his Game 7 homer in the National League Championship Series devastated the Mets — he hit just .216 in the regular season. He constantly changed his stance and seemed not to trust himself as a hitter.