while winning a Gold Glove. He also won the first-ever National League Rawlings Platinum Glove Award, bestowed upon one player in each league. For the second time in his career, he won MVP consideration; he finished tied for 21st for the NL MVP balloting. 2012 On March 1, 2012, Molina signed a five-year extension with the Cardinals worth $75 million through 2017. The contract included a $1 million signing bonus, no-trade clause, and a mutual option for 2018 worth another $15 million. The deal made him the second-highest-paid catcher in the majors. He collected his tenth career four-hit game against the Brewers on April 29 with a two-run home run that led the Cardinals to a 7–3 win. On May 1, Molina mounted the first of two two-stolen base games of the season; the other occurred August 3. On May 27 against the Phillies, Molina blasted his third career grand slam against Roy Halladay. His made his 1,000th career appearance in an MLB game against the Chicago White Sox on June 12. From July 25 to August 7, he maintained a season-best 11-game hitting streak in which he batted .413. In a game against Pittsburgh at PNC Park on August 28, he sustained head, neck and back injuries – although no concussion – in a second-inning home plate collision with second baseman Josh Harrison. In August, he batted .403 with a .453 OBP, both tied for third in the NL. As the season progressed, he garnered widespread consideration for the National League MVP award. On September 4, Molina collected his 1,000th career hit, an infield single against the Mets at home in the second inning. The 2012 season was one of Molina's crowning achievements as a hitter, especially considering early professional scouting reports did not forecast his bat being much of a factor in the major leagues. He set new career highs in multiple offensive categories, including a .315 batting average, 22 home runs, 76 RBI, 65 runs scored, .373 OBP, .501 slugging percentage and 12 stolen bases. He led the team in batting average for the second straight season, thus becoming the first catcher in franchise history to do so. Panning Molina's performance National League-wide, he ranked fourth in batting average, tenth in on-base percentage, 14th in slugging percentage and tied for 18th with 46 multihit games. He led NL catchers in stolen bases and set a Cardinals single-season