Lieberthal returns to SoCal to play for the Dodgers
Catcher once dominated Marmonte League
By Steve Ames

Mike Lieberthal

After calling Philadelphia his major league home for 13 seasons, catcher Mike Lieberthal's new home park will be Dodger Stadium, much closer to Westlake High where he blossomed during the 198790 seasons for the Warriors.

Lieberthal received a $1.15 million contract from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Dec. 6, with a club option for the following season.

Born in Glendale on Jan. 18, 1972, Lieberthal, who bats and throws righthanded, grew up attending games at Dodger Stadium with his family, including his father, Dennis Lieberthal, who was once a scout for the San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers.

Mike Lieberthal was drafted by the Phillies in the first round (third pick) of the 1990 amateur draft and signed his first professional contract on June 4, 1990.

He made his major league debut at Dodger Stadium on June 30, 1994, when he was 22.

As a major leaguer Lieberthal has a .275 career batting average with 150 home runs, 609 RBI and is the Phillies' all-time leader with 1,174 games caught. In addition, he's Philadelphia's leader in home runs and RBI for a catcher.

Lieberthal said he signed with Los Angeles in the offseason because he wants to win.

"The Dodgers have a pretty good chance to win this year," he said. "The Phillies, all the years I've been there, we never made the playoffs. At this point of my career, really, the main thing is just winning, getting into the playoffs and winning a championship."

From the Dodgers' standpoint Lieberthal's key value as a player will be to serve as a backup to Russell Martin, a standout rookie last year.

The Westlake grad said he'd be there to do anything to help Russell Martin.

"I just know him by playing against him," Lieberthal said. "I hear he's a great guy to work with; he's a young kid who hopefully I can help. I've been in the league for a while. I know a lot of the hitters in the league. I can help him in that respect."

Lieberthal is grateful for the coaching he received along the way to the majors and said that a large part of that was at Westlake.

"I was fortunate. Our team in high school was really good. My senior year we were ranked in the nation, and we lost in the semifinals," he said.

Lieberthal's 1990 Warrior team was 28-2 overall, 14-0 in the Marmonte League and won its first league baseball championship. USA Today ranked Westlake No.1 in the nation before it was upset by Huntington Beach in the semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division V-A playoffs.

Lieberthal still holds career records at Westlake for at-bats (289), runs (79), hits (105), home runs (30), and he's second in RBI (79) to Mike Nickeas' 105.

After graduating from WHS, Lieberthal spent three and a half seasons in the minors. The transition from high school to professional baseball wasn't easy, he said.

"It's hard because you can't really prepare yourself because everything's so much different," Lieberthal said. "From the first year, I lived with a family for a couple months. In rookie ball a lot of families take players in, so that was different. Being in a small town, Martinsville, Va., it's a totally different environment.

His pace out of high school to the majors was a little quicker than he thought it would be when he left Westlake.

"It's tough to make it up within three or four years," he said. "You really have to climb the ladder fast. It's not that I tore it up in my first couple of years in the minors, but when you are drafted high you move up every year, and that's what I did."

When he was called up to the majors, Lieberthal had a career minor league batting average of .270 with 13 home runs.

"Being in the situations with the Phillies, they needed catching," he said. "Darren Daulton at the time was struggling. Daulton got hurt '94 and '95. My first two years I came up for half the season. It was a little bit quicker call than probably normal."

Among other awards, Sporting News bestowed the National League Comeback Player of the Year award on Lieberthal in 2002 after he was sidelined in 2001.

Lieberthal was named to the National League All-Star team in 1999 and 2000.

"In '99, before the season started, to make the All-Star team was not even really a thought," he said. "I was just fortunate. I had a great first half. (Mike) Piazza was always the sworn-in starter for all those years.

"To be in a position to be his backup, it was a great year. I started off strong and ended strong that year. It was an experience to play with all the greatest players in the game for that one day."

Lieberthal said earning a Rawlings Golden Glove Award in 1999 brought him the most professional pleasure. Managers and coaches from each Major League team, who are not able to select their own players, do the voting.

"It's the one award that I cherish the most because of defense," he said. "You take a lot of pride as a catcher. To at least get one of those awards shows that you have some skills back there."

As he prepares for the new season with a new team, Lieberthal has a schedule that includes yoga two or three times a week. He also has a trainer who comes to his house four times a week.

Lieberthal said it's important to stay on top of his game, and to do that there's a lot of work that most people don't see.

"Off the field you are practicing most of the time just to prepare yourself in a nine-inning game," Lieberthal said. "I've always worked hard. You have to work hard in the offseason so you do stay healthy once you enter the season."

With spring training a month and a half away, Lieberthal looks forward to several good spring and summer seasons with the Dodgers.

"Hopefully I can stay here in L.A.," he said. "It's really up to your health. Hopefully I'll do well here in L.A. and be here for a few years. You never know how long. Obviously, it's health and if you produce. I'm just looking to win a championship and enjoying myself."