Taylor McDowell "Dunc" Duncan (May 12, 1953 – January 3, 2004) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

. Duncan, who was a college teammate of

Leon Lee Leon Lee (born December 4, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player and manager, primarily known for his career in Japan. He played first base, third base, and catcher during his career, batting and throwing right-handed. Lee had a ...

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, was selected by 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

as the 10th overall pick of the

1971 Major League Baseball Draft The 1971 Major League Baseball draft took place prior to the 1971 MLB season. The draft saw the Chicago White Sox select Danny Goodwin first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1971 Major League Base ...

. He was traded along with Earl Williams by the Braves to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

for

Davey Johnson David Allen Johnson (born January 30, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played as a second baseman from through , most notably in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty t ...

Pat Dobson Patrick Edward Dobson, Jr. (February 12, 1942 – November 22, 2006) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Detroit Tigers (1967–69), San Diego Padres (1970), Baltimore Orioles (1971–72), Atl ...

, Johnny Oates and Roric Harrison on the last day of the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

on December 1, 1972. Duncan spent five seasons playing for Orioles-affiliated minor league clubs. In September 1977 he was claimed off waivers by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

and made his major league debut, playing a handful of the remaining games. He changed teams again as the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

selected him in the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

on December 5, 1977. The 1978 season was Duncan's last in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

: he appeared in 104 games of the 1978 season playing mostly

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. Duncan continued to play in the minor leagues until 1980. The obituary of

The Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

quoted a major league scout who believed that Duncan's career had been hampered by a broken ankle he suffered early in his minor league career. Taylor Duncan, the Major League Baseball player, bears no relation to Taylor Duncan, the founder of Alternative Baseball.

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* 1953 births 2004 deaths African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Asheville Orioles players Azules de Coatzacoalcos players Baseball players from Memphis, Tennessee Evansville Triplets players Gold Coast Suns (baseball) players Greenwood Braves players Knoxville Blue Jays players Leones de Yucatán players Major League Baseball third basemen Montgomery Rebels players Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen Oakland Athletics players Petroleros de Poza Rica players Portland Beavers players Rochester Red Wings players Seibu Lions players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Petersburg Pelicans players Tacoma Tugs players Tigres del México players Vancouver Canadians players Wytheville Braves players 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen {{US-baseball-third-baseman-stub