Jeff Duncan (baseball)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jeff Duncan | ||
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| Outfielder | ||
| Born: December 9, 1978 Harvey, Illinois |
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| Batted: Left | Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | ||
| May 20, 2003 for the New York Mets |
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| Final game | ||
| May 5, 2004 for the New York Mets |
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| Career statistics | ||
| Batting average | .276 | |
| Home runs | 1 | |
| Runs batted in | 11 | |
| Teams | ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
Jeffrey Matthew Duncan (born December 9, 1978 in Harvey, Illinois) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Duncan played for the New York Mets in 2003 and 2004. He hit and threw left-handed.
Duncan 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 Double-A 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 turned out to be the lone good hitting streak of his career. In August 2003, he hit .106 with no RBI and spent a short time with the Triple-A 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 Double-A and Triple-A levels of the Mets' system and was not brought back to the majors. In 2005, he hit only .245 with the Double-A 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 Double-A Mobile, San Diego did not re-sign him after the season. In 2006, Duncan hit .299 with the Los Angeles Dodgers' Triple-A Las Vegas 51s, but did not play in the majors. He signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on November 10, 2006, but was released on July 3, 2007.
After his release, he signed with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League, but was released on May 21, 2008; he immediately retired.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Jeff Duncan at MLB.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
- ^ a b Jeff Duncan profile at Arizona State University Athletics web site. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
- ^ Jeff Duncan - 2002 Highlights at MLB.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
- ^ Jeff Duncan - 2003 Highlights at MLB.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
- ^ "Patriots transactions". May 21, 2008, somersetpatriots.com. Retrieved on June 1, 2008.
[edit] External links
- Jeff Duncan at Retrosheet
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
- Jeff Duncan at The Baseball Cube
