Chris Duncan

Chris Duncan
Chris Duncan in 2010 Spring Training
Left fielder / First baseman
Batted: Left	Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 10, 2005 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
July 20, 2009 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Career statistics
Batting average	.257
Home runs	55
Runs batted in	175
Teams
St. Louis Cardinals (2005-2009)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (2006)

Duncan batting for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2007.

Christopher Edwin Duncan (born May 5, 1981) is a Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman who is currently a free agent.

He is the youngest son of Dave Duncan, a former catcher and current pitching coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. His older brother, Shelley, is also a first baseman and outfielder for the Cleveland Indians.

Early life

Duncan is a graduate of Canyon del Oro High School in the Tucson suburb of Oro Valley, Arizona. While there he was a teammate of Texas Rangers All-star second baseman Ian Kinsler.^[1] He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round (46th overall) in the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft as a supplemental Pick for loss of Free Agent Delino DeShields to the Baltimore Orioles.

Minor League career

Duncan made his professional debut with the Johnson City Cardinals of the Appalachian League shortly after his signing. For the season, he batted only .214 with six home runs. After seven seasons in the Cardinals' farm system, including the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, Duncan made his debut with the big club on September 10, 2005. On October 2, 2005, he became the last player to hit a home run at Busch Memorial Stadium during the regular season.

Cards' ROY

After spending most of the first half of the 2006 season working his way into the regular roster, Duncan hit very well and ended the season with impressive power numbers. In 2006, he was third in all of baseball behind David Ortiz and Ryan Howard in homers per at bat for players with at least 75 at bats. For the season, Duncan hit 22 home runs in only 280 at bats.

In the 2006 World Series, Duncan appeared in three of the five games, going 1 for 8 with one run batted in. He committed an error in the fourth inning of Game 5 which was promptly followed by a two-run homer by Sean Casey, and misplayed a fly ball by Casey, which was ruled a double, in the sixth inning. However, Duncan and the Cardinals won the game and the Series, defeating the Detroit Tigers four games to one. Following the 2006 season, Duncan was named the team's Rookie of the Year.^[2]

2007

Duncan became a regular starter in 2007, playing 127 of the team's 162 games that season. He batted .259/.354/.480, hitting 21 home runs (2nd on team) and 70 RBI (2nd on team), and third in doubles (20). He started 90 games in the outfield, committing two errors, which was an improvement from 2006, when he committed 6 errors while playing in both right and left field. He also finished second in total bases (180). He led the team in strikeouts with 123.

On September 20, 2007, Duncan underwent surgery for a sports hernia. It was successful and he returned to the clubhouse on September 22. His brother, Shelley, also suffered a sports hernia; the brothers are very competitive and had been trying to outdo one another in their workouts.^{[citation needed]}

Mark McGwire has served as his hitting coach since 2007.^[3]

Season ending injury

In 2008, after hitting .252 in 127 at bats, Duncan was sent down to his former team, the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. Joe Mather took his spot on the Major League roster. Duncan was recalled in June to fill the hole at first base, which was left open after Albert Pujols went on the disabled list for a period of 15 days. He would spend most of his time in the outfield after Pujols returned to the lineup.

On July 22, Chris was placed on the disabled list after experiencing severe discomfort in his arm, hand, and neck. The club called the injury a "pinched nerve". On August 2, it was reported that Duncan would miss the rest of the 2008 season after having surgery to address a herniated cervical disk in his neck. He ended the season with a .248 batting average, 6 home runs, and 27 RBI over 222 at bats.

Trade to Red Sox

Duncan successfully recovered from the surgery that ended his 2008 season, however, hit only .227, with five homers and 32 RBIs in 260 at bats with the Cardinals, and began drawing the ire of Cardinals fans. On July 22, Duncan was optioned to the Cardinals' triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds. A day later, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox along with a player-to-be-named-later or cash for shortstop Julio Lugo (who had also fallen out of favor with his organization and its fans) and cash considerations.^[4]

The BoSox assigned Duncan to their triple-A affiliate, the Pawtucket Red Sox.^[5] After batting only .188 with two home runs and ten RBIs at Pawtucket, Boston released Duncan on August 21, 2009.

Washington Nationals

On January 19, 2010, Duncan signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals with an invite to spring training.

Stully and Duncan

Since October 2, 2011, Duncan has been a host for "Stully and Duncan," a nightly radio program on the St. Louis ESPN Radio Affiliate, WXOS.

See also

List of second generation MLB players

References

1. ^ Grant, Evan (3/4/06). "Rangers' Kinsler eyeing second base". Dallas Morning News. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/baseball/rangers/stories/030406dnspokinsler.216e20c5.html. Retrieved 8/7/09. 
2. ^ The Official Site of The St. Louis Cardinals: Team: Player Information : Biography and Career Highlights
3. ^ McGwire Talks About Teaching Hitting ESPN.com, March 13, 2009
4. ^ Laymance, Reid. "Duncan on way to Boston for Lugo". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on 2008-12-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20091203041822/http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/commishs-hot-stove/commishs-hot-stove/2009/07/duncan-appears-on-way-to-boston-for-lugo/. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
5. ^ "Sox find taker for Lugo, acquire Duncan". mlb.com. http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090721&content_id=5976266&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos/. Retrieved 2009-07-26. 

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Chris Duncan page at stlcardinals.scout.com

Persondata
Name	Duncan, Chris
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	May 5, 1981
Place of birth	Tucson, Arizona
Date of death
Place of death