Jeff Duncan (baseball)

Jeff Duncan
Biographical details
Born (1978-12-09) December 9, 1978
Harvey, Illinois, U.S.
Playing career
(2003-2004)

New York Mets

Position: Outfielder
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
(2014-Present) Kent State Golden Flashes

Jeffrey Matthew Duncan (born December 9, 1978) is a retired American 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.[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] After a strong college career, 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 close to .400 for two A-level teams leading all Mets Minor Leaguers.[3]

In 2003, Duncan hit well at Double-A Binghamton. 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. He signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on November 10, 2006, but after a strong and impressive spring training he was sent down to AAA Syracuse. After an injury plagued season, he was released on July 3, 2007.

After his release, he signed with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League, but asked for his release on May 21, 2008; he immediately retired.[5]

Coaching career

In September 2009, Duncan left his volunteer position with the Auburn Tigers for a full-time assistant coaching position with the Purdue Boilermakers, which he held through the end of the 2013 season.[6] Prior to the start of the 2014 season, Duncan was hired as the head coach at Kent State.[7]

Yearly records

Below is a table of Duncan's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.[8]

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Kent State (Mid-American Conference) (2014–present)
2014 Kent State 36–23 16–11 2nd (East) NCAA Regional
2015 Kent State 31–22 18–9 1st (East)
2016 Kent State 44–14 20–4 1st (East)
Kent State: 111–59 54–24
Total: 111–59

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. Jeff Duncan at MLB.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  2. 1 2 Jeff Duncan profile at Arizona State University Athletics web site. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  3. Jeff Duncan – 2002 Highlights at MLB.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  4. Jeff Duncan – 2003 Highlights at MLB.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  5. "Patriots transactions". May 21, 2008, somersetpatriots.com. Retrieved on June 1, 2008.
  6. "Jeff Duncan leaves volunteer position for full-time assistant spot". September 14, 2009, auburntigers.cstv.com. Retrieved on September 5, 2011.
  7. "Jeff Duncan Hired as Kent State Baseball Coach". CantonRep.com. June 25, 2013. Archived from the original on June 25, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  8. "2014 Mid-American Conference Standings". D1Baseball.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
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