Paul Lo Duca

Paul Anthony Lo Duca (born April 12, 1972) is an American former professional baseball player and television personality. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1998–2004), Florida Marlins (2004–2005, 2008), New York Mets (2006–2007), and Washington Nationals (2008). He later became a horse racing analyst for the TVG Network and New York Racing Association. In November 2019, he agreed to a contract to work for Barstool Sports as a horse racing and gambling analyst.

Prior to his collegiate career, Lo Duca attended Apollo High School in Glendale, Arizona where he was named Co-Player of the Year in 1990. As a result, he walked on to the baseball team at Glendale Community College in Arizona after he was not recruited or drafted out of high school. He hit .449 and .461 in his two years at the community college before transferring to Arizona State University. In 1993 (the one year he played at ASU), Lo Duca was named The Sporting News Player of the Year, setting school records with a .446 batting average and 129 hits. He also was named a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, and his 37-game hitting streak is the second longest in school history. He was named ASU "On Deck Circle" Most Valuable Player; other winners include Dustin Pedroia, Willie Bloomquist, Ike Davis, and Barry Bonds.

Despite his college success, Lo Duca spent many years in the minor leagues after being drafted in the 25th round of the 1993 Major League Baseball Draft. After spending 1995 with the Vero Beach Dodgers, Lo Duca was sent to the Australian Baseball League to play with the Dodgers' Australian affiliate, the Adelaide Giants, during the 1995–96 off-season, to help with his development. He finally achieved a breakthrough year with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2001 at age 29, recording career highs of 25 home runs, 90 RBIs and a .320 batting average. Lo Duca drew comparisons to Dodgers predecessors Mike Scioscia and Mike Piazza; all three were capable and popular everyday catchers who were homegrown through the Dodgers' organization, and all three are of Italian-American ancestry. Lo Duca's primary strength was as a contact hitter, like Scioscia, but unlike the power-hitting Piazza.

After becoming an everyday big league player, Lo Duca was named to four All-Star Games. In 2002, he was one of the best contact hitters in the majors — only Jason Kendall struck out less often, and no one had a better percentage of swings and misses. In 2003, Lo Duca's 25-game hitting streak was the second longest in Dodgers history, and defensively, he ranked first in the National League in throwing out baserunners. In 2004, he led National League catchers in RBIs. In the field in 2004, he allowed 93 stolen bases, more than any other catcher in Major League Baseball.

Lo Duca was traded from Los Angeles along with Juan Encarnación and Guillermo Mota to the Marlins for Hee-seop Choi, Brad Penny, and minor league pitching prospect Bill Murphy at the 2004 trading deadline.

Later, Lo Duca was traded to the Mets for two minor league prospects: pitcher Gaby Hernandez and outfielder Dante Brinkley. This was part of a Marlin "market correction" where most of their high-paid players were traded away after the 2005 season. Lo Duca was a member of the 2006 All-Star Team, and the Mets finished that year with a 97-65 record and made the postseason (his first playoff experience). Lo Duca hit .318, his highest average since 2001. He also had a .355 on-base percentage, a career high. Lo Duca collected his 1,000th career hit on May 30, 2007, off Barry Zito. His batting average fell 48 points that year to .272, and he played only 119 games after making a trip to the disabled list in August.

After the 2007 season, Lo Duca agreed to a $5 million, one-year deal with the Washington Nationals on December 10. He was released by the Nationals on July 31, 2008, after batting .230/.301/.281.

On August 8, 2008, Lo Duca signed a minor league deal to return to the Florida Marlins organization. LoDuca was called up on August 16.