Jim Souhan: Redmond returns to field, do-rag and all

Mike Redmond played with stitches in his head to give Joe Mauer a day of rest.

By Jim Souhan, Star Tribune

Last update: July 7, 2007 - 10:44 PM

CHICAGO Friday night, White Sox slugger Jim Thome whipped his bat around violently, crashing the barrel into catcher Mike Redmond's head. Redmond crumpled. Blood gushed.

As he lay in the dirt behind home plate, Redmond said what any of us would say under the circumstances:

"Sorry, Joe."I felt bad for Joe Mauer," Redmond said. "I'm the only other person on this team who knows what it's like to catch both games of a doubleheader, and I didn't want Joe to have to go in. And it wasn't like I was hurt that bad. Just bleeding a lot."

That will be the title of Redmond's biography: Just Bleeding a Lot.

Redmond's job is to spell Mauer. Well, that's part of his job, along with taking his infamous pregame "Naked Walks," inspiring his famous "Good Talks" and printing up "Smell 'Em" T-shirts.

But his primary role is to play when Mauer's legs need a break. So, Saturday morning, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire assessed the relative health of his catchers and decided Mauer's tired legs were more of a concern than Redmond's surgically repaired scalp.

Redmond assumed the squat and the No. 3 spot in the lineup, got two of the Twins' seven hits in their 3-1 loss to the White Sox, and a nickname was born. "I'm calling him 'Gangsta Mike' from now on," Torii Hunter said.

About 17 hours after having his scalp knitted, Redmond stuck extra padding in his helmet, borrowed a skull cap from the White Sox, blacked out the Sox logo and caught nine innings while becoming the first Twin in memory to wear a do-rag.

"Hey, I'm a do-rag type of guy," he said, as his teammates teased him.

Asked if New Ulm native and noted fashionista Terry Steinbach (I guarantee he's wearing flannel right now) ever wore a do-rag, Gardenhire said: "Oh, please write that. You can even put my name on that quote. Terry Steinbach wore a do-rag. He sees that, I'll be getting a call before he finishes the sentence."

Redmond attracts all manner of abuse. The Twins say they have never seen a player take so many foul tips.

"Every time he plays, he gets crushed," Hunter said. "He takes foul tips off the arms, legs, side of the head. He's the only guy in the game who gets whiplash.

"And now he's wearing a do-rag, so I'm calling him Gangsta Mike. I took it off to see if he had braids, but there were only stitches."

Said Redmond, "It goes against all of my baseball beliefs to wear a do-rag, but I had to wear something."

Redmond's family saw him prone on Friday and worried. His youngest son offered this advice: "Daddy, you've got to duck!"

And when he tried to explain to his wife where he was lacerated, Mr. Male-Patterned Baldness settled for this explanation: "You know my hair? The cut is where the infield is playing back."

I can relate. My hair is doing the Barry Bonds shift -- playing way out in the outfield.

Redmond's savvy and toughness will make him a good manager or coach in the future. Michael Cuddyer even says Redmond -- not Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer or Johan Santana -- was the team MVP last year, because Redmond kept the clubhouse loose and intense and urged teammates to play with pain.

Gardenhire values Redmond's approach so much he bats him third in a contending lineup even though Redmond has one home run this year.

"I walked in there last night and he's getting a needle right to the brain," Gardenhire said. "I said, 'That's enough for me, I'm outta here.' "

Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon on AM-1500 KSTP. jsouhan@startribune.com

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