Dave Duncan (baseball) - Playing Career

Playing Career

Duncan was signed as an amateur free agent by the Kansas City Athletics in 1963. In his first at-bat as a professional baseball player, he hit a home run for the Daytona Beach Islanders of the Florida State League. Duncan made his major league debut on May 6, 1964 at the age of 18, becoming the youngest player in the American League at the time. He was kept in the major leagues to protect him from being drafted by another team under baseball rules. Duncan returned to the minor leagues for the next two seasons, where he led the California League with 46 home runs for the Modesto A's in 1966. He began the 1967 season with the Birmingham A's but, was brought back up to the major leagues in early June. When his batting average dropped to a .194 in early July, he was returned to Birmingham to work on his hitting. When his hitting showed signs of improvement, Duncan returned to the major leagues in September, along with Reggie Jackson and Joe Rudi.

Athletics' team owner Charlie Finley moved the franchise west to Oakland, California, for the 1968 season, during which Duncan caught the majority of the team's games while platooning alongside Jim Pagliaroni. While he possessed good defensive skills, he only managed to hit for a .191 batting average. His batting average fell further to .126 in 1969 and Phil Roof took over as the Athletic's main catcher. Duncan's hitting improved in 1970 to a career-high .259 batting average along with 10 home runs and 29 runs batted in as, he shared catching duties with Frank Fernández and Gene Tenace, who was called up to the major leagues late in the season. He also missed time due to his commitment to the military reserves. When Duncan made adverse comments about Finley during the season, the owner fired Athletics manager John McNamara in October for failing to control his players, despite the team's second place finish in the American League Western Division.

The 1971 season saw Duncan become the Athletics main catcher, as he guided their pitching staff to finish second in the league in earned run average as well as in strikeouts. Duncan was the catcher for two twenty-game winners in 1971, as Vida Blue won 24 games and Catfish Hunter won 21 games. His offense continued to improve, hitting 10 home runs by mid-season and, was selected as a reserve on the 1971 American League All-Star team, replacing Ray Fosse who missed the game due to an injury. Duncan finished the season with a .253 average with 15 home runs, 40 runs batted in while leading American League catchers in range factor. The Athletics would win the American League Western Division but, were defeated by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1971 American League Championship Series.

1972 would be Duncan's best season offensively as he hit 19 home runs with 59 runs batted in, although his batting average slipped to a .218. He committed only 5 errors in 113 games played for a career-high .993 fielding percentage, second only to Johnny Oates among American League catchers. With Duncan calling the pitches, the Athletics' pitching staff led the league in winning percentage and in shutouts and, once again finished second in earned run average as, the team captured their second consecutive Western Division title. Despite Duncan's production, Athletics manager Dick Williams, a proponent of the platoon system, began using Gene Tenace as the starting catcher during the last month of the season. The Athletics would be victorious over the Detroit Tigers in the 1972 American League Championship Series before going on to defeat the Cincinnati Reds in the 1972 World Series. Tenace would be the star of the series, hitting 4 home runs with 9 runs batted in and, was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.

Although Duncan joined the Athletics in spring training, he became embroiled in a contract dispute with Finley and, in March 1973 he was traded along with George Hendrick to the Cleveland Indians for Ray Fosse and Jack Heidemann. Duncan became the Indians' starting catcher in 1973 however, he broke his wrist on June 28 and missed two months of the season. He finished the season hitting for a .233 average with 17 home runs and 43 runs batted in while leading American League catchers in range factor. He played in a career-high 136 games in the 1974 season but, the heavy workload caused his batting average to fall to .200. In February 1975, Duncan was traded with Al McGrew to the Baltimore Orioles for Don Hood and Boog Powell. With the Orioles, Duncan shared catching duties with Elrod Hendricks during the 1975 season before Rick Dempsey took over as the Orioles starting catcher in 1976. Duncan would be traded to the Chicago White Sox in November of that year. When the White Sox released him in March 1977, he retired as a player at the age of 30.