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paul lo duca (loduca), 2006 upper deck #711, mets

Player: Lo Duca, Paul

Card: 2006 Upper Deck #711

Position: C

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playerbio

Paul Anthony LoDuca (Lo Duca, born April 12, 1972) was born in Brooklyn, New York, but was raised in Glendale, Arizona. He is a retired 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). Paul was named to four All-Star teams during his career. 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.

Despite his college success, Paul spent many years in the minor leagues after being drafted in the 25th round of the 1993 Amateur Draft. He finally achieved a breakthrough year with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2001 at age 29. He 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. LoDuca's primary strength was as a contact hitter.

After becoming an everyday big league player, LoDuca 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, his 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.

In 2006 with the Mets, Paul hit .318, his highest average since 2001. He also had a .355 on-base percentage, a career high. He collected his 1,000th career hit on May 30, 2007, off Barry Zito.

On December 13, 2007, LoDuca was named in the Mitchell Report in connection with human growth hormone (HGH) use. On January 9, 2013, LoDuca acknowledged his steroids use, tweeting "I took PED and I'm not proud of it…"

(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)

morecards

2002 Upper Deck Vintage #182
2004 Topps Cracker Jack #21
2005 Topps Cracker Jack #95
2007 Upper Deck Goudey #82
2008 Topps Gold #528

tourstops


Paul LoDuca is part of the New York City Born Player Tour – Go to the Next Stop


Paul is part of the All-Star Player Tour – Go to the Next Stop


LoDuca is part of the LA/Brooklyn Dodgers Player Tour – Go to the Next Stop


See all of Paul’s baseball cards at TCDB


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