Elijah Dukes

Infobox MLB player
name=Elijah Dukes

---

width=300
position=Outfielder
team=Washington Nationals
number=34
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1984|6|26
debutdate=April 2
debutyear=2007
debutteam=Tampa Bay Devil Rays

statyear=September 9, 2008
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.235
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=21
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=58
teams=
*Tampa Bay Devil Rays (by|2007)
*Washington Nationals (by|2008-present)

Elijah David Dukes, Jr. (born June 26 1984 in Homestead, Florida) is an American professional baseball player. A right-handed outfielder, he currently plays for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball.

High school years

Dukes attended Hillsborough High School his junior and senior years, after spending his first two years of high school at Jefferson High School, C. Leon King High School, and George D. Chamberlain High School. He was a letterman in football, baseball, basketball, and track lettering four years in the former two sports and two years in the latter two sports. In football, as a junior, he started at both tailback and middle linebacker, was named a Class 3A All-State selection as a linebacker, and rushed for over a thousand yards on offense. His Hillsborough Terriers make the state regional football semifinals during his junior year, and the quarterfinals his senior year. After finishing his high school career, he signed a national letter of intent to play football for North Carolina State University.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Rays (2003–2007)

Dukes entered the Devil Rays farm system in 2003. He was highly regarded but also a player about whom the Rays were concerned about in terms of his temperament.Fact|date=September 2008

On April 2, 2007, in his first official at bat, Dukes got his first major league hit with a solo home run to center field in the fifth inning against the New York Yankees. In his second game he hit his second home run en route to a victory versus the Yankees. Dukes likes to celebrate home runs by simulating a "dump truck" on home plateFact|date=September 2008. On December 3, Dukes was acquired by the Washington Nationals for left-hander Glenn Gibson, a fourth-round draft pick in 2006 who was ranked among the Nationals' Top 10 prospects according to various baseball sources, including prospect authority "Baseball America". [ [http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071203&content_id=2315981&vkey=news_was&fext=.jsp&c_id=was Nats acquire Dukes from Rays | nationals.com: News ] ] [ [http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/features/265146.html BaseballAmerica.com: Prospects: Top 10 Prospects: Washington Nationals ] ] .

Washington Nationals (2008– )

He was injured during spring training and upon his return he started slowly, struggling with batting low in the order and not playing regularly in one position. After an injury to Austin Kearns, he became the everyday right-fielder and excelled.

Off-the-field problems

In 1996, Dukes' father was convicted of second-degree murder. One year later, Dukes was arrested for the first time. Dukes has been arrested at least three times for battery, and once for assault.WFAN radio broadcast, New York Mets v Washington Nationals, 10 September, 2008.] According to court records, he fathered at least five children with four women between 2003 and 2006.

On May 23, 2007 it was reported that his wife filed a restraining order after he threatened to kill her. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2880144 ESPN - Report: Dukes' wife alleges that outfielder threatened to kill her] ] On June 12, a 17-year-old foster child who was living in the care of a relative of Dukes accused him of impregnating her. [http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/12/Rays/Teen__Dukes_got_me_pr.shtml Teen: Dukes got me pregnant] ] Police said the sex was apparently consensual. When the girl confronted Dukes, he allegedly got angry and threw a bottle of Gatorade at her.

Dukes has received anger management training. When Dukes was traded to the Nationals, the team also hired an ex-police officer in the role of "Special Assistant: Player Concerns". This person accompanies Dukes everywhere to ensure that he keeps himself free of trouble.

Notes

External links

*baseball-reference|id=d/dukesel01
*cite web |url=http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/TAMPA-FL/WDAE-AM/ELIJAH%20WITH%20RON%20%26%20IAN.mp3?CPROG=PCAST&MARKET=TAMPA-FL&NG_FORMAT=sports&SITE_ID=1124&STATION_ID=WDAE-AM&PCAST_AUTHOR=620_WDAE_The_Sports_Animal&PCAST_CAT=WDAE_Personalities&PCAST_TITLE=Ron_and_Ian's_Podcasts |title=Interview on Ron and Ian Radio Show at 620 WDAE-AM