Prior to Monday night’s game between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium, I had an opportunity to chat briefly with former Dodger catcher Paul Lo Duca.

Lo Duca, as you may know, is one of many former Dodgers who has been welcomed back into the Dodger family as one of their public relations ambassadors helping with various community activities and charity events. He is also a member of the growing list of current and former baseball greats affiliated with J.D. Legends Promotions.

Former Dodger catcher Paul Lo Duca is thrilled to be back with the Dodger organization. He is seen here with current Dodger third baseman Luis Cruz at a community Christmas party held at Dodger Stadium this past December. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Lo Duca was born in Brooklyn, New York on April 12, 1972 but was raised in Glendale, Arizona, where he attended Apollo High School. And even though he was a star on his high school baseball team, he was not drafted out of high school. Because of this, Lo Duca enrolled at Glendale Community College (AZ) and was a walk-on to their baseball team. In his two years at GCC, Lo Duca hit .449 and .461 before transferring over to Arizona State University.

In 1993, the only 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 was also named a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and his 37-game hitting streak is the second longest in ASU history. Lo Duca was named as the ASU “On Deck Circle” Most Valuable Player, joining the ranks of Dustin Pedroia, Willie Bloomquist, Ike Davis, and Barry Bonds.

Dookie (as he was called by teammates) was drafted by the Dodgers in the 25th round of the 1993 First Year Player Draft. After spending eleven seasons in the minor leagues, Lo Duca made his MLB debut with the Dodgers on June 21, 1998. Like his predecessors Mike Scioscia and Mike Piazza, Lo Duca was homegrown through the Dodger organization. He is also of Italian-American ancestry, as are Scioscia and Piazza.

Known for his hard work and aggressive play, Lo Duca was a huge fan favorite during his seven seasons with the Dodgers. He was selected to four consecutive All-Star Games from 2003-2006 (the later two with the Marlins and Mets respectively).

On May 28, 2001, LoDuca became only the seventh player in Dodger history (Brooklyn and L.A.) to collect six hits in a game, joining the likes of George Cutshaw (1915), Jack Fournier: (1923), John DeBerry (1929) Walter Gilbert (1931), Cookie Lavagetto (1939) and Willie Davis (1973). Lo Duca’s feat was matched almost a year to the day later by Shawn Green (2002 – four of which were home runs). What is absolutely mind-boggling about these eight record-tying events is that all but three of them occurred during the month of May.

In 2002 Lo Duca was one of the best contact hitters in all of baseball with only Jason Kendall (then with the Pittsburgh Pirates) striking out fewer times. In 2003 Lo Duca had a 25-game hitting streak that was the second longest in Dodgers history (it has since been topped by Andre Ethier’s 30-game hitting streak in 2011). He also ranked first in the National League in throwing out base runners. In 2004 Lo Duca led all National League catchers with 80 RBIs. Lo Duca collected his 1,000th career hit on May 30, 2007 off of Giants left-hander Barry Zito.

When Lo Duca’s name appeared in the Mitchell Report in December of 2007, he didn’t run and hide like nearly every other person named in the report did. Instead, he owned up to his mistakes and realizes that it is something that has to live with the rest of his life. And while he will not discuss his PED use publicly, this past January he acknowledged that it is something that he is not proud of.

After several unsuccessful attempts to remain in the game, Lo Duca officially retired in 2010 and became a television analyst for Television Games Network (TVG), a cable channel dedicated to horse racing, his other passion outside of baseball.

While speaking with Lo Duca this past Monday, I asked him what it was like being out of baseball and what it meant to him to be welcomed back into the Dodger family.

“It’s tough watching (the game) instead of playing it,” said the 41-year-old former catcher. “It’s an adrenaline rush that can’t be repeated. It’s a lot easier watching it on TV than playing it and it doesn’t hurt as much, but I miss it a lot. You see things on TV and you want to help guys, but you can’t.

“It’s been great being back with the Dodgers. I grew up a Dodger and I will always be a Dodger,” Lo Duca added. “The Dodgers were all I knew. I cried the day they traded me, I mean I actually cried. It’s great to be back here (at Dodger Stadium) where I have so many great memories and so many great friends.”

I asked Lo Duca if he had any desire to become involved with the LAD Adult Baseball Camp (LADABC) organization like Tommy Davis, Ron Cey, Bill Russell, Steve Yeager, Kenny Landreaux, Lenny Harris and several other former Dodgers associated with J.D. Legends Promotions.

“It’s camp, man, just like spring training. It would be great to spend time with those guys and with the campers. I hope I get the opportunity to do it.”

It’s great to see that Paul Lo Duca still has the same passion for the game and even more so for the Dodgers.