When they're both sidelined, that's the only time it stinks to have league's top catcher tandem.

The fledgling Minnesota Twins have Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond, a great tag team behind the plate. They are a combined:

- 178 games (obviously because Redmond has doubled as a designated hitter from time to time);

- 186 hits in 632 at-bats, a .294 batting average;

- 79 runs scored;

- 91 runs batted in;

- 37 doubles;

- three triples (all by Mauer);

- six home runs;

- seven stolen bases on eight attempts (all by Mauer);

- 72 bases on balls;

- and only 69 strikeouts.

Here's how Mauer and Redmond compared to other American League team's catchers, as of Friday:

- Only two teams' top two catchers have combined batting averages higher than Redmond and Mauer. Yankees Jorge Posada and Jose Molina have gone a combined 190-for-608 for a .313 batting average, and Indians Victor Martinez and Kelly Shoppach are batting a combined .298. Another good-hitting tandem is the Mariners' Kenji Johjima and Jamie Burke, who are hitting a combined .291.

- The same two teams' top two catchers have more RBI, runs scored, and double than the Twins catchers. Indians Martinez and Shoppach have 128 RBI, 90 runs, and 49 doubles. Yankees Posada and Molina have 95 RBI, 91 runs, and 47 doubles.

- No team's top two catchers have stolen more bases or walked more times than Redmond and Mauer.

- Every team receives more home runs from its catchers.

- Every team's catchers, except the Mariners' Johjima and Burke (46), the Athletics' Jason Kendall and Kurt Suzuki (57), the White Sox's A.J. Pierzyski and Toby Hall (64), and the Blue Jays' Gregg Zaun and Jason Phillips (65), strike out more than Mauer and Redmond.

Defensively, Mauer and Redmond are just as good. They have a combined:

- 1159-1/3 innings behind the plate;

- one error (by Mauer);

- three passed balls (all by Mauer);

- 56 assists;

- 882 putouts in 939 total chances;

- eight double plays;

- and 38 runners caught stealing in 79 stolen base attempts against
them, meaning 48 percent of would-be base thieves were thrown out.

Here's how Mauer and Redmond compared to other American League team's catchers, as of Friday:

- No team had so few errors from the catcher's position as the Twins. Mariners Johjima and Burke combined for three.

- Only Angels Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis and the Blue Jays Zaun and Phillips matched the low number of passed balls that Mauer and Redmond had.

- The Twins' double play and assists numbers are not large, but they are not bad, either.

- No opposing team's catchers come anywhere near throwing out the number of runners Mauer and Redmond nail. In fact, the numbers for most teams are putrid -- starting with Blue Jays Zaun and Phillips (12 percent) and the White Sox Pierzynski and Hall (19 percent). Mariners Johjima and Burke threw out 39 percent of stealing runners, and the Rangers Gerald Laird and Adam Melhuse nailed 35 percent. Opposing teams know how good the Twins are at catching base thieves, so they don't even try to run anymore -- no team has had fewer runners try to steal against them than the Twins. Besides the Twins, teams are least likely to steal against the Royals (80 stolen base attempts) and then the Mariners (85). They are most likely to steal against the Yankees (154 stolen base attempts), the Blue Jays (119), the Indians (116), and the Red Sox (112).

Despite the fact that some bigger Twin Cities media outlets like to rip Mauer and Redmond for being injured, they play a lot of games. Their 1159-1/3 innings behind the plate is seventh in the league. Only the Indians and the Yankees have played their top two catchers in more games, and only the Indians' catchers got more at-bats than Minnesota catchers.

It's easy to make a case for the Twins tandem of catchers being the best in the league. They are productive at the plate and more than solid behind it. There is rarely a lineup without them in it.

The unfortunate part of having the best tandem of catchers in the business is that if they are both sidelined, then the Twins have to go with a new pair -- third catcher Chris Heintz, who's been in Triple-A for much of this year, and recent call-up Jose Morales. Heintz isn't a bad hitter, according to his Triple-A stats, and he seems to be an adequate defensive backstop. The book is still out on Morales -- we'll see.

Just one more question remains: When can we have Redmond and Mauer back?

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