Cardinals' family ties run deep in newest addition to Red Sox staff

The St. Louis Cardinals wrapped up their search for their hitting coach vacancy by hiring Joel McKeithan for the position and other teams are putting the finishing touches on their staffs as well. The Boston Red Sox were in a similar boat as the Cardinals, needing to just add another staffer or two, and officially hired Shelly Duncan to join Chad Tracy's major league staff.

The addition of Duncan to Boston was a good hire, as a former major leaguer with plenty of coaching experience and a long-running baseball background. After Duncan's professional career ended in 2014, he immediately joined the coaching ranks. In 2015, he latched on with the Diamondbacks minor league system and managed three different levels, taking home a league title in 2018. Since then, he bounced around organizations before spending the last three years in charge of the Yankees Triple-A affiliate. In 2025, he was named the league's manager of the year.

Besides the fact he is an accomplished coach, Boston added a little extra sting to the hire by poaching him away from the Yankees as many fans pointed to him as Aaron Boone's heir. This type of experience and success at every level made Duncan an attractive candidate every coaching cycle, and now he has made his way back to the big leagues. His role on Tracy's staff is yet to be determined, but with his baseball acumen, Duncan should be expected to have a major influence on every aspect of the team.

Shelly Duncan's ties to the Cardinals show how strong the family legacy is around the game

For Duncan, his baseball background is much greater than just his success as a player and coach. Cardinals fans are aware of the power the Duncan family name has. For Cardinals fans of a certain age, we had the honor of watching legendary pitching coach Dave Duncan turn nobodies into somebodies and create a system that led to long-term success with the staff. That type of coaching has to be part of what made Shelley a major league player, with Dave preaching development and doing things the right way. Being a minor league coach and manager, Shelley has a proven player development background that can be used to take the young Red Sox roster to the next level.

Besides the Dave and Shelley connection, fans will certainly remember Shelley's brother Chris who played for the Cardinals during his dad's time with the organization. While Chris Duncan was unable to seize a long-term role as a starter in St. Louis, he made his mark and contributed to the Cardinals' 2006 World Series title. Fans will also recall that Chris passed away from cancer in 2019, bringing players, staff, and fans together to share these incredible memories for a life that ended too soon.

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