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02/13/2008 4:00 PM ET
First base Duncan's only concern
Mind turns to baseball following offseason health scare
By Anthony DiComo / MLB.com








TAMPA, Fla. -- Shelley Duncan's right arm was swollen, and he was concerned. Naturally. So Duncan did what anyone would do these days. He logged online, typed in his symptoms and hit submit.
A few clicks later, he was beyond concerned. He was scared.

"You get pretty worried, especially when the worst-case scenarios are pretty bad," Duncan said. "And until you have answers, your mind races all the time."

Turns out Duncan had multiple blood clots in his right armpit, which landed him in the hospital for about a week in November. Doctors cleared out the clots, put him on a regimen of blood thinners and let his body do the rest. And it did. Now, three months later, Duncan has arrived at Spring Training early, eager to shove all that health business into his past.

"I feel wonderful -- like a stallion," Duncan said on Wednesday at the Yankees' Minor League complex in Tampa, Fla.

The Yankees need him to be one, too. After spending most of the past seven seasons in the Minor Leagues, Duncan will enter Yankees camp with just as much of a chance as anyone to snag the starting job at first base. There will be competition, to be sure -- Jason Giambi, Wilson Betemit and Morgan Ensberg all want that role, too -- but it sure beats a spot in the Minors. And it sure beats a hospital bed.

Memories of his ordeal, perhaps more than anything, will linger with Duncan after camp officially opens for position players next week -- and that's only natural. Consider his journey. Once a career Minor Leaguer -- and perhaps resigned to that fate somewhere in the back of his mind -- Duncan burst into the Bronx last year, winning over fans as much with his infectious personality as with his powerful bat. The power may have faded a bit as last season wore on, but his upbeat nature never did.

Still, Duncan managed to hang onto his roster spot all summer, finishing with a .257 average and seven home runs. After spending most of his adult life falling just short of his goal, he finally had arrived.

And so this should have been the first offseason in which, all but guaranteed his dream job come spring, Duncan could relax. But it didn't happen. Not even close.

Instead, he spent the winter worried about a string of medical nightmares, not even sure if he would ever return to New York. And the experience humbled him.

"There are a lot of people in this world who go through that, and then the worst-case scenarios do come out," Duncan said. "Going through this situation, I feel for them deeply. I don't know what it's like, but I had a small, small taste of it, and it's tough. It's really tough to be in that state of mind emotionally."

Now, though, his only concern revolves around that first-base job -- and relatively speaking, that's an awfully nice worry to have. He's been working in Tampa with former Yankee Tino Martinez, who has taught him the nuances of being a right-handed fielder playing first base -- a position traditionally dominated by left-handed players.

He's grateful for the advice, just as he's grateful for the fact that he no longer needs to worry about medical reports or hospital bills or fancy medications.

"Just an aspirin a day," Duncan laughed. "Like an 85-year-old man."

Anthony Dicomo is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.