This is part 1 of a series of pieces over the next couple weeks that will take a position-by-position look at the Twins over the past five seasons. You'll see how the team has changed, where they went right and where they went wrong in personnel decisions.

The Twins have been lucky when it comes to catchers over the years. If there's a position the Twins are most certain at for 2008 it's catcher. Joe Mauer will return as the starting catcher (hopefully a little more healthy) and Mike Redmond will return for his fourth season as Joe's backup. Before Mauer, the Twins were already pretty steady at the backstop.

Pierzynski played 135 games at catcher in 2003, the most by any Twin since 1980.

A.J. Pierzynski was the Twins' main man behind the plate from 2001 to 2003. He consistently batted around .300 and was even an All-Star in 2002. The emergence of Mauer, a first overall draft pick in 2001, forced the Twins to deal Pierzynski after the 2003 season to the Giants in return for Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser.

Joe Nathan became the immediate closer in 2004 and Liriano was a top prospect, but in the short term the move backfired on the Twins at the position of catcher. Mauer injured himself early in the 2004 season while sliding for a ball in foul territory and the Twins were left with Henry Blanco and his .206 average as the starting catcher for 95 games that season. Mauer started just 29 games all year.

In 2005 Mauer returned to start most of the Team's games and the Twins brought in the veteran Redmond to back up Mauer. Redmond batted over .300 and started 43 games behind the plate as the Twins remained cautious with Mauer's knee. Mauer put together a solid, yet unspectacular season in which he posted a .294 battering average and 61 walks. Power at the plate was noticeably absent.

Things really came together in 2006 when Joe Mauer emerged as one of the best catchers in baseball. He spent a portion of the season threatening the .400 mark and eventually ended the year with a .347/.429/.507 line, good enough for the AL batting title. Redmond was again impressive as the the #2 guy. He batted .341 while again starting 43 games behind the plate.

Joe Mauer couldn't be crowned AL batting champ until the last day of the '06 season. He narrowly edged Derek Jeter.

After the '06 season both catchers were handsomely rewarded by the Twins. Mauer's reward came in the form of a 4 year, $33 million contract which would cover his final two years of arbitration eligibility and keep him in a Twins' uniform through the 2010 season. Redmond got a new 2 year, $2 million deal with a $950,000 club option for '09.

Like the rest of the team, both players' numbers slipped a bit in 2007. Of course, no one expected a repeat of their 2006 seasons. Mauer again was plagued with varying leg injuries which limited him to just 91 games behind the plate. The lack of a real DH caused Mauer and Redmond to DH 18 and 17 games, respectively. Although Mauer continued to draw a lot of walks, his batting average slipped to .293 and his power numbers never increased.

For the fourth straight season, Mauer and Redmond will take care of catching duties in 2008. If Mauer can stay healthy, the team should have nothing to worry about behind the plate.