How Many Babies Mamas Does Elijah Dukes Have

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The Washington Nationals accept been working very hard to answer some of their many lingering questions this offseason.

Go rid of a closer who walked more batters than he struck out? Bank check.

Bring in at least 1, and possibly ii, relievers to accept his identify? Check.

Cover the team's posterior, in instance Jesus Flores is not 100 percent healthy, past signing a one-time all-star catcher willing to take on a reduced role? Check.

Chase veteran free-agent pitchers down the street, contract in one hand, pen in the other? Cheque.

While most Nationals' fans aren't entirely sure what the team volition look like when General Manager Mike Rizzo ceases his tinkering and trading, one thing is for certain: they are going to exist a improve squad.

Merely ane change that is not being considered, at least publicly, is in right field. 2010 seems to exist the yr that Elijah Dukes will achieve his potential equally a histrion and mature as a man, or he'll exist long, long gone by the cease of the year. The Nationals are also close to respectability to be able to coddle Dukes for much longer.

Will he succeed and survive in Washington? Equally Dr. Phil likes to say, "The all-time predictors of future actions are past actions."

Without question, Dukes has the potential to hit .290-25-xc with 25 steals and play flawless defense, just tin he keep his nighttime side in cheque long enough to exist able to accept that kind of a breakthrough season?

In that location is no question that Elijah Dukes has done some very stupid things. The question, though, is why did he exercise them?

Dukes was 8 years old, and living in the poorest part of Homestead Florida, when Hurricane Andrew leveled his city. The family salvaged only two family photographs and a small radio.

The radio was stolen the next day.

The family moved to Tampa simply found it hard to observe good housing, in part considering of express resource and in part because of the influx of displaced Floridians due to the hurricane.

The home was in the worst office of town, surrounded by drug dealers and prostitutes.

Young Elijah was nine years old.

Mother Phyllis began ownership and selling crack cocaine—she says she never actually used it—for her friends and neighbors to savor.

Ane night, she accused a drug dealer of selling her counterfeit crack.

Elijah Dukes Sr. took a gun and pushed the cage deep into the man'southward chest.

He pulled the trigger and became a murderer.

On his way out of the courtroom and into prison, a crying Elijah tried to touch his father as he walked past him, just was kept away past a police officer.

And his grief turned to anger.

It was just a few months later that Dukes was first arrested, at the age of 13, for set on and battery.

All as well often, Elijah, at present a teenager, would come home to observe the power turned off and the refrigerator empty.

"I'm going to get a professional athlete," Elijah said. The family needed money.

He excelled in both football and baseball. He was named the finest athlete in Florida and USA Today called him "the best ii-way athlete in the land."

That didn't stop him from attending four Tampa loftier schools in 4 years, as he connected to clothing out his welcome wherever he went.

He was offered many football scholarships and signed a national letter of intent with Chuck D'Amato and North Carolina State University.

In the end, though, he chose baseball and the quicker payday, receiving a $505,000 bonus as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' third round selection in the 2002 typhoon.

In each of his showtime 6 professional seasons, Dukes was suspended at least in one case.

After receiving a harsh critique from Durham Bulls' hit coach Richie Hebner, Dukes laced his fingers around his neck and choked him with both hands, raising him a expert two inches off the basis.

Devil Rays' catcher Shawn Riggans saw Elijah'due south temper flare over and over during their time in the minors. He was 1 of the few who didn't blame Dukes for his actions.

"Yous and I would non exercise well at that place," Riggans said, referring to Dukes' early years. "Nobody knows what it was like for him." When asked his opinion well-nigh Dukes the baseball player, Riggans searched for a moment and said, "If he tin can focus himself on the field, in that location aren't many other players similar him."

Hebner wasn't as kind. "He'll snap in a minute," the onetime Pirate told ESPN.com, adding, "a new team or a new stadium won't change that."

Another Rays' farmhand, Ryan Knox, saw Dukes' temper up close and personal. In 2004, Knox was Elijah'due south third roommate in three months. At kickoff, they got along fine every bit Knox began to consider Dukes a friend.

And then i day, the vivid-eyed and amiable Dukes suddenly turned dour and cold. Things got and so bad that a maid in the hallway hid for her life and fellow teammates scurried for cover.

Knox didn't motility fast enough. Similar Hebner before him, Knox felt the full strength of Dukes' easily begin to asphyxiate off his air supply.

"Knox, I'grand washed with you!" was all Dukes said before throwing him to the basis. "With him, it was kill or exist killed," said Knox softly, truly saddened by Dukes' difficulties.

Simply his talent cast a giant shadow on his personality flaws, and he was before long in the major leagues.

In his start major league at-bat, Dukes lofted a long home run into deep middle field in Yankee Stadium off of Carl Pavano. He then duplicated the feat the next solar day.

While he was notwithstanding a part of the Tampa organization, no one would say a cross word almost Elijah Dukes, probably out of fearfulness. Merely now that he's a Washington National, they are a little more than willing to talk.

"That wasn't a fun year, and that's all I take to say about that," says Red Sox catcher Kevin Cash, who played for the Bulls in 2006.

And Rays' manager Joe Maddon said that a weight has been lifted with Dukes gone: "Information technology feels a whole lot improve here."

Dukes is not a sweetness man and has a rap sheet that would make a career criminal blush.

Since 2003:

Presently after his first kid was born, he was arrested for throwing a remote control at his girlfriend. He was arrested for obstruction of a constabulary officer. He was arrested for battery. He was arrested for battery again. He was arrested for choking 1 of his girlfriends. He was arrested for possession of marijuana.

In that location was a 17-year-old girl living with his grandmother. He got her significant. He threw a canteen of Gatorade at her when he establish out he was going to accept his 5th child with his 4th girlfriend.

You lot get the idea.

Since the merchandise to Washington, Dukes' mental attitude has been "good plenty." Oh sure, he been in trouble while playing winter brawl in 2007, and he had a stare-down with Mets' pitcher Mike Pelfrey, and he and former Nationals' director Manny Acta had a heated discussion one summer evening.

But compared to his first six seasons, 2008 was a walk in the park. Though he had an early season injury that robbed him of his power, Dukes still had a solid offensive year, batting .264-13-44 in just 276 at-bats. Injuries and attitude bug (and a demotion to 'AAA' Syracuse for a fourth dimension) made 2009 a big disappointment for Dukes, who hit just .250-viii-58 in just over 300 at-bats.

His two-yr boilerplate with Washington, based on a 550 at-bat season, looks like this:

Ave:.256 HR:16 RBI:75 SB:17 OBP:.359 SLG:430

He could have his breakthrough season in 2010, hitting .295-30-100 or he could be long-gone when September rolls around. With Elijah Dukes, you tin't predict what he'll do until subsequently he's already washed it.

Hopefully, the squad—and the fans—requite him a chance to prove exactly who Elijah Dukes is.

And heading into his make-or-break flavor, Dukes is once more in pain. His father, who had served 16 years for murder, died of cancer only 3 weeks subsequently existence released from prison. Prison house doctors mistakenly diagnosed him with acid reflux and relatively minor tummy disorders.

Dukes had told many of his friends that he couldn't expect for his father to watch him play this twelvemonth. Will Dukes focus in 2010 and have a nifty twelvemonth to honour his father, or will he end up coldcocking a teammate in yet another moment of blind rage?

We should have some empathy for the human. How many of us—having grown up in the aforementioned circumstances—would have washed whatsoever better? Without proper office models, surrounded by people who didn't give a damn, forced into crime to survive, would we have become the person we are today?

I don't know.

I do know, though, that Dwight Gooden, Gary Sheffield, and Carl Everett are as well graduates of Dukes' Hillsborough Loftier School.

Similar personalities. Similar attitudes. Like problems.

Is Elijah Dukes a case of nurture vs. nature?

Coming out of that same quagmire of hopelessness, Dukes' younger blood brother Tyrone just graduated from Albany State University in Georgia with a degree in business.

Was Tyrone the exception? Was he the rule?

Again, I don't know.

Only that'south the point, none of us know.

And until we practice, we should—in the words of my favorite preacher—hate the sin just honey the sinner. We should hate those things that Elijah Dukes has done but dearest Elijah Dukes and root for him to succeed.

Hasn't he earned that by at present?

Funny sidebar to this story: As I was researching newspaper articles about Dukes for this story, I came beyond three stories about "Elijah Dukes" that drew my attending:

From the Washington Mail, July 16th 1906: "Elijah Dukes recently had his eighteenth child, all with the aforementioned mother." (the number of children fits, simply not the number of moms).

From the San Antonio Light, Baronial 15th 1949: "Elijah Dukes came off second best in an altercation with a woman over ownership of a hairbrush, police said Monday. Dukes, stabbed twice in the chest with a scissors, was treated and released at Baptist Memorial Infirmary." Well, it would have fabricated more sense if it was Dukes doing the stabbing.

Just look .... there'southward more than.

From the San Antonio Light, May 23rd, 1966: "A San Antonio woman was in fair condition Monday at the Baptist Memorial hospital after suffering multiple stab wounds Sunday night. Elijah Dukes, 42, was arrested for set on to murder in connectedness with the stabbing."

Peradventure information technology'due south the name?

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Source: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/312346-elijah-dukes-difficult-past-makes-future-with-nationals-very-uncertain

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