Los Angeles Dodgers Duncan was signed by the
Los Angeles Dodgers 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 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, 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.
Cincinnati Reds Duncan was traded by the Dodgers to the
Cincinnati Reds with
Tim Leary on July 18, for
Lenny Harris and
Kal Daniels. Duncan would go on to win a title with the 1990 World Champion Cincinnati Reds which included the Nasty Boys.
Philadelphia Phillies Duncan signed with the
Philadelphia Phillies 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, 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. On July 6, 1997, Duncan and
Kenny Rogers were traded to the
San Diego Padres for
Greg Vaughn and two minor league players. The deal was voided days later due to Vaughn failing his physical.
Toronto Blue Jays Duncan was traded to the
Toronto Blue Jays 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 in 1998.
Career statistics In 1279 games over 12 seasons, Duncan compiled a .267
batting average (1247-for-4677) with 619
runs, 233
doubles, 37
triples, 87
home runs, 491
RBI, 174
stolen bases, 201
walks, 913
strikeouts, .300
on-base percentage and .388
slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a .963
fielding percentage, 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==