Catcher Mike Redmond knows his place

La Velle E. Neal III
Star Tribune

FORT MYERS, FLA. -- From Livan Hernandez and Josh Beckett to Johan Santana. From Charles Johnson and Pudge Rodriguez to Joe Mauer.

From World Series champion to ....

The Twins and new catcher Mike Redmond would love for that last sentence to play out like the first two.

Redmond signed with the Twins after seven years with the Florida Marlins, where he was part of their 2003 World Series championship team. During those seven years, he backed up All-Star catchers such as Johnson and Rodriguez and caught the likes of Beckett and Hernandez. Along the way, he's also had Carl Pavano, Cliff Floyd, Mike Lowell, Alex Gonzalez and Juan Pierre as teammates.

He knows his place. And he knows what it means to finish in first place. And, as he looked around a clubhouse of unfamiliar but talented players at Hammond Stadium on Tuesday, Redmond said he hoped he's joined another winning team.

"We sat on the bench [while with Florida], and we were into games," Redmond, 33, said. "We kept people loose and had fun. We loved to play, compete and win. As we got going and farther into the season, the games became more important, but it seemed like we had more fun. We weren't pressing. We just went out and beat you and played better than you.

"This team, from what I've seen and heard, has a lot of those characteristics. There's some guys here who like to have fun, but when they are playing they are serious. I look forward to getting in game situations with these guys."

Redmond arrived a few days before camp opened to meet some of his new teammates and get in a couple of workouts. He played against Torii Hunter in Class A ball and against Carlos Silva when he was with the Phillies. Other than that, he didn't know anyone in the organization before coming to TwinsFest in January.

He did know someone locally outside the organization: Gophers men's basketball coach Dan Monson. Redmond was playing at Gonzaga when Monson was an assistant coach there. Redmond attended the Gophers-Indiana game on Feb. 12 and the two went out to dinner afterward. And no, Redmond wasn't signed just because owner Carl Pohlad also attended Gonzaga.

"Gonzaga is such a small community, you know everybody," Redmond said.

The Twins wanted to re-sign Henry Blanco but parted ways when his agent asked for too much money. Redmond doesn't throw out runners as well as Blanco, but the Twins still like his pedigree.

"All you can do is look where he's been, where he came from," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He caught the best pitching staff in baseball, or one of them. Obviously he can handle good pitching. That's the only thing you can go by. We know he can hit a little bit. We know he knows how to catch good pitching. Those are the only things you can look at. All the reports on him are he's fantastic for your ballclub and all those things, so that's the only way we can go."

The Twins expect Mauer to be their full-time catcher this season, and Redmond expects to be on the bench a lot. It all depends on how many games a week the Twins want to start Mauer, who is coming off left knee surgery last year. Redmond indicated that he will adapt to any situation.

"I've done everything, man," Redmond said. "I've played quite a bit, and I've sat quite a bit. I've gone 20 days without playing. So I'm prepared to do whatever.

"I've heard great things about [Mauer] and what kind of player he is. I look forward to watching him and see how he plays."

Redmond has been a sponge throughout his career, learning from everyone he's played with. Johnson blocks balls in the dirt better than anyone he's ever seen. Rodriguez has been the most talented all-around catcher he's been around.

Redmond helped Ryan Dempster go from not being able to throw strikes to becoming an All-Star in 2000. And he took pride in helping Armando Benitez save a career-high 47 games last season.

He'll now get to know new teammates in a different league while watching a hometown catching prodigy.

"I feel lucky and fortunate that I've been able to play as long as I have and to learn as much as I have," Redmond said. "That's what's great about being over here. You're in an organization where I get to learn from Gardy and how he manages and meet a new pitching coach [Rick Anderson] and get to know a new pitching staff."