Reese Kaplan -- Remember the Catcher AFTER Mike Piazza?

Back during the off-season before the 2006 season started the Mets were trying to fill a new hole behind home plate.  The club had been spoiled by the presence of Mike Piazza from 1999 through 2005.  During that span the Hall of Famer slugged 220 home runs for the Mets, drove in 655 runs and batted a very impressive .296. 

When Piazza decided after leaving the Mets to cross back to the west coast to don the Padres uniform he was already 37 years old.  His paycheck was pretty tiny as they did not know what he had left in the tank.  Given his age he had a strong season, playing 126 games, hitting 22 HRs and driving in 68 while hitting a very respectable .283. 

He got a big bump in pay to about half of his prime time with the Mets for his final season at age 38 with the Oakland A’s.  This time the numbers dropped quite a bit.  Over 83 games he hit 8 HRs, drove in 44 and batted .275.  After that last hurrah he retired from the game.

The front office made a trade of prospects to the Marlins to obtain their catcher.  Departing were pitcher Gaby Hernandez who never made it to The Show.  Accompanying him was outfielder Dante Brinkley who showed some power and speed, but also couldn’t handle higher levels of pitching and was out of baseball by age 26, reverting all the way back to A+.  

Now in return the Mets had a new guy come to town to don the tools of ignorance.  Brooklyn native Paul Lo Duca was already an established hitter who finished his career with a .286 batting average.  He made the All Star team four times.  In his rookie year with the Mets he was already 34 years old but he made it one of his finest seasons.  He hit .318, almost never striking out and made his final All Star appearance.  

His second season in New York was not quite as good, but a .272 batting average would likely make him contend for an All Star berth these days.  

Unfortunately for the Mets and Lo Duca, all was not roses during his stay in Queens.  He had already been named in the infamous Mitchell report for abusing PEDs while with the Dodgers.  The evidence was clear cut, with multiple signed checks from Lo Duca produced as proof he’d obtained HGH from then clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski.  They also found handwritten notes in Radomski’s house from Lo Duca.  

He is accused of introducing multiple Dodgers players to this performance option while playing in Los Angeles.  He later admitted what he did but tried to justify it by stating many players would take a pill or injection if they honestly thought it could help their game.

There was also a minor media controversy with Lo Duca concerning his divorce during his time with the Mets from his then-wife, a former Playboy model.  He refused to talk to the media at all initially, but later under pressure amended it to saying he would only discuss baseball.

After he left the game he was signed by Barstool Sports which put a microphone in his hands.  He quickly demonstrated he would let fly with whatever crossed his mind, bashing A-Rod for being what he called the “fakest player in baseball” and giving Carlos Beltran major heat for his role in the sign-stealing that took place during the end of his playing career with the Astros. 

 

His name came under fire again this week when the court revealed that umpire Joe West had won a $500,000 judgment against Lo Duca for allegedly fabricating a story about how pitcher BIlly Wagner allowed him to use a 1957 Chevy in exchange for being granted a wider strike zone.  It was proven that not only didn’t the incident take place, but that Joe West wasn’t even the home plate umpire on the date in question.  

To me, he was always known as one of those guys with the crazy eyes that seemed ready to snap at a moment’s notice.  His career has demonstrated that discretion and maturity were never a part of his makeup.  Not that I was ever a fan of Joe West, but I couldn’t help smiling when I heard Lo Duca got his comeuppance.