Minnesota Twins Opening Day Countdown: 55, Mike Redmond
The Minnesota Twins were just 55 days away from opening day in Baltimore on February 3rd. As we near that day, we will tap into Twins history related to each number as we get closer!
The Minnesota Twins are preparing for a 2018 season with expectations after making the playoffs in 2017 as a Wild Card. We will have bring out numbers from team history that represent the number of days until opening day on March 29th in Baltimore.
The Minnesota Twins have had some impressive characters in their clubhouse, but combining Michael Cuddyer and Mike Redmond on the same team may have been the most clubhouse fun that any recent Twins team has experienced! We remember Redmond with #55 in this article.
Redmond’s playing career
Redmond went undrafted out of college at Gonzaga, signing as an undrafted free agent with the Marlins in 1992. He made his pro debut in 1993, but his breakthrough season was in 1994 and jumped through low-A and high-A, hitting .270 with a .342 on base, though not with much power.
He spent two seasons with AA Portland in 1995 and 1996 before struggling through and injury-plagued 1997. He got a bump to the major league level in 1998 after the Marlins traded away their catchers from their 1997 World Series championship team.
He’d work as a high-average, solid defense backup for the Marlins for the next 6 seasons before the Twins signed him as a free agent before the 2005 season.
Redmond struggled to stay healthy as a Twin, though being Joe Mauer‘s backup at that time didn’t lend to a lot of playing time. He still produced well, hitting .297/.339/.359, showing excellent contact, though not a lot of power.
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After the 2009 season, the Twins chose to go with Drew Butera as their backup, and Redmond found his way to Cleveland. Though he set a record for consecutive errorless games as a catcher during that 2010 season with the Indians, he struggled to hit, and he was replaced on the roster by the man who would become the 2017 Twins veteran catching presence, Chris Gimenez.
Coaching career
Redmond was immediately hired as a minor league manager in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, finding immediate success and building a high reputation, such that after the 2012 season, with just two seasons of minor league managing under his belt, Redmond was named the Marlins manager.
Redmond managed the Marlins for 2+ seasons, being fired just a month and a half into the 2015 season with a 155-207 record. He’s worked as a coach around the game since, currently with the Colorado Rockies organization. Hopefully he’ll get another managerial chance.
Next: Who will be next in Twins team HOF?
As we get closer to opening day, we remember #55 by remembering the great personality of clubhouse joker Mike Redmond.
We look forward to that first day of the season against Baltimore!