Santiago knows squat. (Insider: baseball).

To get a real feel for this story, try this while you read: Rise from your seat, place the magazine on the floor, and assume the catcher's crouch.

Now stand, then squat. Stand, squat. Squat, squat, squat. This is the life of a catcher. In a three-hour game, a catcher's knees are folded for perhaps 1 1/2 hours. Now multiply that by 162. Ouch, it hurts just to think about it.

No active catcher has done more crouching than the Giants' Benito Santiago, who is dosing in on Ted Simmons for 10th place on the career list for games caught. From skinny Rookie of the Year in 1987 to savvy All-Star in 2002, Santiago, 37, has caught 1,710 games for seven teams. And though his career has had many ups and downs, Santiago mostly has avoided knee trouble. "The only ice I use" he quips, "is in my drinks."

The only time Santiago suffered a knee injury was in January 1998, when he rammed his Ferrari into a tree at 95 mph. He spent four days in the hospital with multiple injuries, but strained knee ligaments were what kept him from playing most of that season. Four years later, he looks at the wreck as a career saver.

"When I was younger, I did a lot of running around and staying out late," Santiago says. "I listened to a lot of bad advice. When I had the accident, it was like God was telling me, `Your job is still down there.'"

Out of work when spring training started in 2001, Santiago signed with the Giants, won the starting job and since has played the most productive baseball of his career. He was named an All-Star this season for the fifth time but for the first time in 10 years. When he was young, Santiago says he relied on talent and focused on highlight plays. He also earned his reputation, he admits, as someone who could be difficult for pitchers. Though his defense remains more flamboyant ...