As the Cardinals’ starting left fielder in 2007, Duncan hit 21 home runs and had a .834 OPS to go with his .480 slugging percentage. His 2008 season was halted by a degenerative disc in his neck, and though he had a strong initial return in 2009 the condition made it difficult for him to turn his head – even as he tried to hit major-league pitching.

“His toughness is off the charts,” La Russa said after a win that summer against the Cubs that Wrigley Field that featured a home run, two singles, three RBIs and one curious play in the outfield from Duncan. “You see it the way he plays, the way he runs the bases, the way he defends, the way he takes at-bats. He’s never going to give in.”

The Cardinals traded Duncan to Boston in July of that season and he did not return to the majors. He last played in Washington’s minor-league system in 2010.

The next year, in August, Dave Duncan took a leave of absence to be with his wife as she began her battle against brain cancer. That October, as the Cardinals won their 11th World Series in club history, Chris, his brother, and his mother watched from the Busch Stadium seats, huddled together with her daughters-in-law. Fourteen months after his mother’s diagnosis, Chris learned he had the same cancer. It started with a metal taste, then seizures, and then surgery, chemotherapy, and other treatment.