Eric Anthony Duncan (born December 7, 1984) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

second baseman and quality control coach for the Miami Marlins of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). Considered an excellent high school baseball player, Duncan was chosen by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

in the first round of the 2003 MLB draft, and became one of the best prospects in baseball. However, injuries and ineffectiveness in minor league baseball prevented Duncan from reaching MLB.

Amateur career

Duncan attended

Seton Hall Preparatory School Seton Hall Preparatory School, generally called Seton Hall Prep or "The Prep", is a Roman Catholic all boys' high school located in the suburban community of West Orange in Essex County, New Jersey, operating under the supervision of the Arch ...

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from the 46,207 counted in the 2010 Census.

. He batted .535 with 10

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 52

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBIs) in his senior year. He committed to attend

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

(LSU) to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

Professional career

The

selected Duncan in the first round, with the 27th overall selection, of the 2003 Major League Baseball draft. Prior to the 2005 season, '' Baseball America'' named Duncan the Yankees' 2005 top prospect, and the 36th best prospect in baseball. Prior to the 2006 season, ''Baseball America'' ranked him the 86th best prospect in baseball. Duncan was drafted as a third baseman, but was converted into a first baseman while in the Yankee organization, due to the long-term contract of Yankee

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

. However, Duncan began to struggle when he reached Triple-A. After the 2009 season, the Yankees released Duncan. He spent the 2010 season in the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

organization, playing for the Double-A

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. ...

. Duncan signed a minor league contract with an invitation to 2011 spring training with the Colorado Rockies. He was released on April 4. On April 19, Duncan was signed to a minor league contract by the St. Louis Cardinals and assigned to Double-A Springfield. He signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals on November 16, 2011 and was assigned to the Double A

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at Arvest Ballpark, whic ...

(Texas League). He suffered a torn quadriceps during spring training in 2012 and returned to the field on May 5. In July 2012, he announced his voluntary retirement.

Awards

*2003 - 1st Team High School All-American IF *2004 - Midwest League All-Star 3B *2006 - Arizona Fall League All-Star 3B *2006 - Arizona Fall League MVP

Coaching career

Following his retirement, Duncan became a volunteer coach for the

Seton Hall Pirates The Seton Hall Pirates are the intercollegiate athletic sports teams representing Seton Hall University, located in South Orange, New Jersey. The Pirates compete as a member of the NCAA Division I level (non-football sub-level), primarily compet ...

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the ...

. He is also a student at Seton Hall, majoring in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. In 2015, the

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pla ...

named Duncan as their hitting coach, he returned to the same position in 2016. In 2017, Duncan was promoted to the

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

as their hitting coach for the 2017 and 2018 season. Ducan was hired by the Miami Marlins as their minor league hitting coordinator in January 2019. On April 19, 2019, hitting coach Mike Pagliarulo was fired by the Marlins. The Marlins promoted assistant hitting coach Jeff Livesey to hitting coach and promoted Duncan to fill the role of assistant hitting coach. Duncan was promoted to hitting coach prior to the 2020 season.

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Eric 1984 births Living people People from Florham Park, New Jersey Sportspeople from Morris County, New Jersey Baseball coaches from New Jersey Baseball players from New Jersey Major League Baseball hitting coaches Miami Marlins coaches Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Columbus Clippers players Trenton Thunder players Tampa Yankees players Battle Creek Yankees players Staten Island Yankees players Mississippi Braves players Springfield Cardinals players Seton Hall Preparatory School alumni Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Grand Canyon Rafters players Peoria Saguaros players Minor league baseball coaches