Steve Lombardozzi back with the Ducks after spending the 2020 season on a potato farm

Even if Steve Lombardozzi wasn’t playing well, it would still beat potato farming. But, luckily for him, and the Ducks, the former big leaguer has regained his form after one year spent surfing the injured list and another away from the game completely.

Lombardozzi, who played parts of six seasons in the Major Leagues and was on the Ducks' 2019 Atlantic League championship team, couldn’t find a baseball home during the lost year of 2020. No Atlantic League season meant no Lombardozzi. So, the now-32 year old worked on a potato farm in Pennsylvania.

It was a long way from Central Islip, and an even longer way from the big leagues.

But, Lombardozzi is back, with a slightly tweaked swing, and the same kind of numbers that made him attractive when the Ducks brought him in two years ago. Entering this weekend’s series against the York Revolution, Lombardozzi was hitting .305 with 29 RBIs, five home runs, and nine doubles in 43 games. He was second on the team in hitting among players with more than 80 at-bats.

"I’m don’t think I’m totally surprised 100% because I know he’s a good player and I know he got hurt [in 2019]," Ducks manager Wally Backman said. "I have been surprised that he’s hit some real big home runs for us because he’s really not a home run guy and he’s got five now. They’ve all been big ones for us."

While five is certainly no gigantic number, it’s noteworthy for Lombardozzi, who hit only five in his entire big-league career. He hit two for the Ducks in 2019, when he only played 74 games because of a turf toe issue.

Part of that power comes from a slight swing adjustment.

"Not major," said Lombardozzi, who made his name with the Nationals from 2011-2013. "But I'm trying to do more damage at the plate when I get in hitter’s counts…It’s more trying to get more out of my body, in terms of power, driving the ball more in the gaps. Obviously, trying to get some home runs and, so far, it's been nice to kind of see that pay off. I'm not necessarily trying to hit the ball out of the park. Usually when you're not trying to, you just will recognize a pitch and almost by accident, you do it."

Strength, which Lombardozzi feels he has a good amount of, also has something to do with it.

"I work real hard in the weight room," he said. "As a person, I feel like I'm pretty strong. So it's just getting that to transfer into my swing."

As far as the swing adjustment, Lombardozzi said he’s tried to change where he makes contact.

"[I’m] trying to try to make contact a little further out front more consistently," he said. "I always was trying to let the ball get in and swing inside-out, trying to hit the ball the other way. Now, it's a little more trying to be aggressive and making that contact a little further out front."

In the first month and a half, it certainly seems to be working.

"He’s a grinder," Backman said. "He’s out there every day. He plays every game. To me, [he] is what I would call ‘a baseball player.’ He does everything right on the field. He’s fundamentally sound, got good instincts, just a hard-nosed good baseball player, nothing flashy about him, which is fine. I’d take nine of those guys in the field."

Team Israel coming to Central Islip

While the Ducks are on the road this week, Israel will play the final game of their barnstorming tour before heading to the Olympics in Tokyo. They’ll face the NYPD at 6:35pm Tuesday at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. Israel’s roster features former-Met Ty Kelly, as well as former big leaguers Ian Kinsler and Danny Valencia, who spent a week with the Ducks earlier this month warming up for the Olympics.