Mariano Duncan Nalasco (born March 13, 1963) is a retired second baseman and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

who played for several

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 (A ...

teams during his 12-year career. He was the infield coach and first base coach for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

under Managers Grady Little and Joe Torre. Duncan currently serves as the hitting coach for the

Brooklyn Cyclones The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Islan ...

, the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

' High-A team.

Playing career

Los Angeles Dodgers

Duncan was signed by the

as an undrafted free agent on January 7, 1982. He played in the Dodgers minor league system for three seasons with the Lethbridge Dodgers in 1982,

Vero Beach Dodgers Vero may refer to: Geography * Vero Beach, Florida, a city in the United States * Vero, Corse-du-Sud, a commune of France in Corsica Other * ''Véro'', a talk show on the Radio-Canada television network * Vero (app), a social media company co-foun ...

in 1983 and San Antonio Dodgers in 1984. He stole 56 bases for Vero Beach and 41 bases for San Antonio, and at San Antonio he tied Stu Pederson for the league lead in triples. He made his major league debut, starting at second base, for the Dodgers on April 9, 1985 against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

, and was 0 for 4 in his debut. He got his first major league hit on April 10 against Astros pitcher Joe Niekro. In his rookie season, July 6, 1985, vs. St. Louis Cardinals, Duncan accomplished the rare feat of bunting for a double where the ball was untouched and did not roll beyond the base paths. The Dodgers won the game 8-3. He stole 38 bases in his rookie season and finished third in the rookie of the year voting. Mariano-duncan cincinnati 10-03-1990

Cincinnati Reds

Duncan was traded by the Dodgers to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

with

Tim Leary Timothy James Leary (born December 23, 1958) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher. Amateur career Leary posted a 10–2 record in his senior year at Santa Monica High School, and was named to the All-California Inter ...

on July 18, for

Lenny Harris Lenny or Lennie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lenny (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lennie (surname), a list of people * Lenny (singer) (born 1993), Czech songwriter Arts and entertainment Music * ''L ...

and

Kal Daniels Kalvoski Daniels (born August 20, 1963) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 1992 for the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs.Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

on April 14, 1992. He played three seasons for the Phils before being claimed off waivers by the Reds on August 8, 1995.

New York Yankees

On December 11, 1995, Duncan signed with 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 ...

, and he spent a season and a half in New York. In his only full season in 1996, he hit .340 with 56 runs batted in. Duncan coined the phrase, "we play today, we win today... das it!" which became the mantra for the 1996 World Series champion New York Yankees. Many of the players wore T-shirts with the slogan under their uniforms daily. In 1997, he played in 50 games, hitting just .244 with 13 runs batted in before being traded to the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

with cash for Angel Ramirez.

Toronto Blue Jays

Duncan was traded to the

on July 29, 1997 for minor leaguer Angel Ramirez. He spent a half of the season with the Blue Jays.

Yomiuri Giants

Duncan played one season for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

in 1998.

Career statistics

In 1279 games over 12 seasons, Duncan compiled a .267 batting average (1247-for-4677) with 619 runs, 233

doubles Men's doubles, Women's doubles or Mixed doubles are sports having two players per side, including; * Beach volleyball * Doubles badminton * Doubles curling * Footvolley * Doubles pickleball * Doubles squash * Doubles table tennis * Doubles te ...

, 37 triples, 87

home runs 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 ...

, 491 RBI, 174

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

, 201 walks, 913 strikeouts, .300

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

and .388 slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a .963

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, di ...

, primarily at second base and shortstop. In 43 postseason games (3 World Series, 7 playoff series) he batted .243 (37-for-152) with 14 runs, 1 home run, 12 RBI and 7 stolen bases.

Highlights

*Member of the Reds' 1990 World Champion team, the Phillies' 1993 National League Champion team, and the Yankees' 1996 World Champion team.

Coaching career

*2003:

Gulf Coast Dodgers The Arizona Complex League Dodgers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix, Arizona. The team is compo ...

*2004: Jacksonville Suns *2005: Las Vegas 51s *2006–2010:

*2011–2012: Tennessee Smokies *2013–2014: Daytona Cubs *2015–2016, 2018: Myrtle Beach Pelicans *2017:

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The Cubs play their h ...

*2019: Kingsport Mets *2020: Columbia Fireflies (''Season Cancelled'') *2021:

*2022: Binghamton Rumble Ponies

References

External links

Mariano Duncan
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Mariano Duncan
at Baseball Almanac
Mariano Duncan
at Baseballbiography.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Mariano 1963 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players Bridgeport Bluefish players Calgary Cannons players Cincinnati Reds players Columbus Clippers players Dominican Republic baseball coaches Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Republic people of Cocolo descent Lethbridge Dodgers players Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Minor league baseball coaches National League All-Stars New York Yankees players Nippon Professional Baseball second basemen Nippon Professional Baseball shortstops Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen Sportspeople from San Pedro de Macorís Philadelphia Phillies players San Antonio Dodgers players Toronto Blue Jays players Vero Beach Dodgers players Yomiuri Giants players