After playing baseball for Park Center Senior High School in Brooklyn Park, MN, Laudner was drafted in 1976 by the Cincinnati Reds in the 33rd round, but did not sign. After four years at the University of Missouri, Laudner was drafted by the Twins in the 3rd round of the 1979 draft. Assigned directly to the AA Orlando Twins, Laudner held his own in his first season in the Twins' organization, hitting .241 in 45 games. The following year, he split his time between Orlando and Single-A Visalia and despite a .227 batting average he hit 12 home runs for the season. Back at Orlando in 1981, he hit 40 home runs while hitting .284 and earning league MVP honors and an August call-up with Twins where he hit 2 more home runs in 14 games. Despite spending 20 games in 1982 at AAA Toledo, Laudner was called up to the Twins permanently.

Laudner was never able to reproduce his 1981 season in the majors. He continued to hit for power, hitting more than ten home runs per season four times over his eight full seasons while averaging only 255 at bats, Laudner's career hitting average of only .225 was one of the factors that kept him from taking over as the full-time catcher. Consequently, he would share catching duties with a revolving list of part-time teammates and potential replacements including: Butch Wynegar, Sal Butera, Ray Smith, Dave Engle, Jeff Reed, Mark Salas, Tom Nieto, Brian Harper, Dwight Lowery, Lenny Webster, Greg Olson, and Orlando Mercado.

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