Mariano Duncan

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.[1] 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.[2][3]

He stole 38 bases in his rookie season and finished third in the rookie of the year voting.

Duncan playing for Cincinnati in 1990

Duncan was traded by the Dodgers to the Cincinnati Reds with Tim Leary on July 18, 1989 for Lenny Harris and Kal Daniels.[4]

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.

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.[5]

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 with cash for Angel Ramirez.[6]

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.

Duncan played one season for the Yomiuri Giants in 1998.

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.