Elijah Dukes
Encyclopedia
Homestead, Florida
Homestead is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States nestled between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area....
) is an American professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player. A right-handed outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
, he currently plays for the Newark Bears
Newark Bears
The Newark Bears are an American professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are a member of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 1999 season, the Bears have played their home games at Bears &...
.
High school years
Dukes attended Hillsborough High School in Tampa, FloridaTampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
his junior and senior years, after spending his first two years of high school at Jefferson High School
Thomas Jefferson High School (Tampa, Florida)
Thomas Jefferson High School is a secondary school located in the heart of the Westshore Business District of Tampa, Florida. Thomas Jefferson High School is an Area 1 high school operated under the Hillsborough County Public School system.-School history:...
, C. Leon King High School
C. Leon King High School
C. Leon King High School, named in honor of C. Leon King a distinguished and respected member of the Hillsborough County Board of Public Instruction for 18 years opened in 1960 with 58 faculty members and 960 students. It is located at 6815 North 56th Street, Tampa, FL 33610.King High School is a...
, and George D. Chamberlain High School
George D. Chamberlain High School
George D. Chamberlain High School was opened in 1956 on North Boulevard in Tampa, Florida, in the United States. The school is named in honor of George Chamberlain, who served for several years as a trustee for the Hillsborough County School System.The school newspaper, The Chieftain, is part of...
. He lettered for all four years in football and baseball and two years in basketball and track. In football, as a junior, he started at both tailback and middle linebacker, was named a Class 3A All-State selection as a linebacker, and rushed for over a thousand yards on offense. His Hillsborough Terriers made the state regional football semifinals during his junior year, and the quarterfinals his senior year. After finishing his high school career, he signed a national letter of intent to play football for North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2003–2007)
Dukes was drafted by the Devil Rays in the third round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft2002 Major League Baseball Draft
The 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 4 and 5.This year's draft is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book Moneyball.-First Round Selections:-Supplemental First Round Compensation Selections:...
.
On April 2, 2007, in his first official at bat, Dukes got his first major league hit with a solo home run to center field in the fifth inning against the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
. In his second game, he hit his second home run en route to a victory versus the Yankees. On December 3, 2007, Dukes was acquired by the Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
for left-hander Glenn Gibson, a fourth-round draft pick in 2006 who was ranked among the Nationals' Top 10 prospects according to various baseball sources, including prospect authority Baseball America
Baseball America
Baseball America is a magazine which covers baseball at every level, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in high school, college, Japan, and the minor leagues. It is currently published in the form of a bi-weekly newspaper, five annual reference book titles, a weekly podcast, and a...
.
Washington Nationals (2008–2010)
Dukes injured his right hamstring on Opening Night and was placed on the disabled listDisabled list
In Major League Baseball, the disabled list is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players.-General guidelines:...
, returning on May 9, 2008. He struggled offensively throughout May, batting a low .167 for the month.
Dukes rebounded in June, hitting .292 with 4 home runs for the month, before injuring his knee on July 5, 2008 in a game against the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
. He had surgery on his knee, and then returned on July 31, 2008, much earlier than expected. Dukes landed on the disabled list yet again with a calf strain shortly thereafter, on August 7, 2008. Dukes returned to the Nationals on August 26, 2008 and hit .267 with 7 home runs and 26 RBI over his last 29 games.
Overall, Dukes hit for a .264 Batting Average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
, with a .386 On Base Percentage
On base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...
, .478 Slugging Percentage, 13 Home Runs and 44 Runs Batted In with a total of 276 At bats in 81 games during the 2008 season.
Dukes was released by the Nationals on March 17, 2010.
Newark Bears (2010-present)
Following his release from the Nationals, Dukes reportedly agreed to a deal with the Tabasco Olmecas of the Mexican League in early April, but backed out after not showing up for a reporting date. Dukes signed with the Newark BearsNewark Bears
The Newark Bears are an American professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are a member of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 1999 season, the Bears have played their home games at Bears &...
of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball is a professional, independent baseball organization located primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, especially the greater metropolitan areas of the Northeast megalopolis. It operates in cities not served by Major or Minor League...
on July 2, 2010.
Off-the-field problems
In 1996, Dukes' father was convicted of second-degree murder. One year later, Dukes was arrested for the first time. Dukes has been arrested at least three times for battery, and once for assault. According to court records, he fathered at least five children with four women between 2003 and 2006.On May 23, 2007, Dukes's wife NiShea Gilbert sought a restraining order against him after he threatened her life and the lives of their children. On May 2, Dukes had sent a photo of a gun to her cell phone and left her the following voicemail: "Hey, dawg. It's on, dawg. You dead, dawg. I ain't even bulls-------. Your kids too, dawg. It don't even matter to me who is in the car with you. Ni----, all I know is, ni----, when I see your motherf------ a-- riding, dawg, it's on. As a matter of fact, I'm coming to your motherf------ house." On June 12, a 17-year-old foster child who was living in the care of a relative of Dukes accused him of impregnating her. Police said the sex was apparently consensual. When the girl confronted Dukes to inform him about the pregnancy, he allegedly got angry and threw a bottle of Gatorade
Gatorade
Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...
at her.
Dukes has received anger-management training. When Dukes was traded to the Nationals, the team also hired an ex-police officer in the role of "Special Assistant: Player Concerns". This person accompanies Dukes everywhere to ensure that he keeps himself free of trouble.
Dukes was arrested in November 2010 for contempt due to failure to pay child support, and again on March 2, 2011 for assaulting a pregnant ex-girlfriend.
See also
- Home run in first Major League at-batHome run in first at-batThis is a list of Major League Baseball players who hit a home run in their first major league at bat.Bill Duggleby, Jeremy Hermida, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Daniel Nava are the only players to hit a grand slam in their first at bat...