Jeff Duncan (baseball)

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**Jeff Duncan**

Toronto Blue Jays — No. 57
Outfielder
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
Major League Baseball debut
May 20, 2003 for the New York Mets
Selected MLB statistics (through 2004)
Avg	.182
HR	1
RBI	11
Former teams
*New York Mets (2003-2004)

Jeffrey Matthew Duncan (born December 9, 1978) is an major league outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays. Duncan played for the New York Mets in 2003 and 2004 and has played exclusively in the minor leagues since then. He hits and throws left-handed.

Jeff Duncan was born in Harvey, Illinois and graduated from Lemont High School where he played baseball. Earlier in his high school days he went to Lincoln Way High School where he was also an All-State hockey player.^[1] He was chosen by the Chicago Cubs in the 41st round of the 1997 Major League Baseball Draft but chose to attend Iowa State University instead.^[2] A year later, he transferred to Arizona State University.^[2] When he was drafted by the Mets in the 7th round of the 2000 draft, he agreed to a contract. His professional career started slowly with a batting average of .242 for the short-season A-level Pittsfield Mets in 2000 and only .217 with the A-level Capital City Bombers in 2001. He had few RBI in the two seasons but registered 61 stolen bases. Duncan's hitting broke through in 2002 with an average well over .300 for two A-level teams. His season was interrupted twice by right hamstring injuries.^[3]

In 2003, Duncan hit well at AA Binghamton. In mid-May, the New York Mets were already well out of first place and on the way to their worst season since 1993. Duncan was called up to the majors and made his debut on May 20, 2003. After three games and one start, Duncan was back in Binghamton until mid-July.^[4] When he returned to the majors, he collected 12 hits in 11 games and his average stood at .400. This has turned out to be the lone good hitting streak of his career thusfar. In August 2003, he hit .106 with no RBI and spent a short time with the AAA Norfolk Tides. His .200 average in September was punctuated by the only three-hit game of his career.

Duncan was back in the majors with the Mets in 2004 but, after only one hit in 15 at bats through May 5, Duncan was back in the minors. He hit under .260 at both the AA- and AAA-level of the Mets' system and was not brought back to the majors. In 2005, he hit only .245 with the AA Binghamton Mets and was released on August 11. Duncan was soon signed as a free agent by the San Diego Padres. Although he hit .300 for AA Mobile, San Diego did not re-sign him after the season. In 2006, Duncan hit .299 with the Los Angeles Dodgers' AAA-level Las Vegas 51s but did not play in the majors. He signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays on November 10, 2006 and is currently a spring training non-roster invitee.