In New York City, it’s not hard to find a Duke graduate with an economics degree. But one such alumnus is rather unique— he wears cleats to work instead of polished shoes, buttons a jersey each day rather than a collared shirt, and doesn’t work anywhere near Wall Street. His name is Chris Capuano, and he reports to the office every day as a right-handed pitcher for Major League Baseball’s New York Mets.
Capuano is far from the first Duke baseball player in history to play in the big leagues. But, though several other alumni of the program are now playing at the minor league level, Capuano is the only Blue Devil currently playing in MLB. His professional baseball journey began in 1999 when he was drafted in the eighth round of the MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. His road to the big leagues was a long one, but he credits his alma mater for the ease of his transition from the amateur ranks to the professional ones.
“The competition that you face in the ACC, it’s one of the best sports conferences around,” Capuano said. “When you first sign out of college, typically your first stop is the single-A level. I didn’t find that jump very difficult after the competition I faced at Duke. It was a pretty smooth transition.”
If the transition had not gone so well, he always had his Duke degree in mind and banking as a backup plan. When he graduated in 2000, he did so Phi Beta Kappa with a 3.86 G.P.A.
Ever since that first season in the minors, though, it was clear he could compete in professional baseball. Playing for the Single-A South Bend Silver Hawks as a 21-year-old, he posted a 10-4 record and 2.21 ERA. But it wasn’t long before he hit bumps in the road, and again his Duke experience proved beneficial—the same mental toughness that made him successful a Duke student-athlete helped him persevere in the pros.
“The game at this level, everybody has the talent,” he said. “It then becomes a mental game—the mental preparation that goes into getting through a 162-game big league season is the difference between having a good year and a bad year.”
He hit his first major snag in 2002 when he undergwent surgery to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. Colloquially known as “Tommy John surgery,” the operation has become commonplace for pitchers, and though the recovery rate is high, the procedure requires a full year of rehabilitation.
He recovered quickly, however, to make his Major League debut in 2003. Following that season, he was part of a nine-player trade that sent him to the Milwaukee Brewers, where his hard work began to bear fruit. His breakout year came in 2005, winning 18 games for the Brewers and recording 176 strikeouts. In 2006, his star continued to rise as he was selected to his first All-Star team.
But just as wildly successful New York investment bankers can be undone by stock market fluctuations, even elite athletes can struggle to maintain their success.
Seven starts into the 2007 season, Capuano’s career trajectory still looked like that of Google stock just after its IPO—a sparkling 2.31 ERA through seven starts, all of which ended with his team in the win column.
But seemingly overnight, Capuano’s career turned from Google to Enron. In the next 22 games Capuano started for the Brewers that season, his team came away with a stunning zero wins. His ERA ballooned to 5.10, and he would eventually go on to set a major-league record for most consecutive losses in games he pitched, with 27. Events snowballed when he had to undergo a second Tommy John surgery, which forced him out of the majors for both 2008 and 2009.
“That pit in your stomach when you get the news that you’re going to be out—it definitely puts all of your mental skills, passion for the game, everything to the test,” he said.
After seeing limited time in the majors in 2010, he completed his sixth season on a major-league roster, earning him the right to test the waters of free agency. As a free agent, he made one of his more calculated decisions by signing with the New York Mets on a one-year contract. Contrary to other clubs, the Mets offered Capuano a spot in the starting rotation in a new pitcher-friendly ballpark.
In signing with the Mets, he helped form what many dubbed the smartest rotation in baseball. Chris Young, a Princeton graduate who played baseball and basketball for the Tigers, also signed with the Mets in the offseason. Capuano and Young had almost been college rivals in the Ivy League; Capuano had signed a letter of intent to go to attend Yale before changing his mind and coming to Duke. Young, like Capuano, is intellectual and talented but has struggled with injuries throughout his career. Given their similar stories, it hit close to home for “Cap” when Young had season-ending shoulder surgery in May.
“It’s tough, because I know exactly what he’s feeling and exactly what he’s going through,” Capuano said. “I think there’s no question you can get back if you work hard enough, but it’s a question of how much you want to go through before you hit a wall.”
Back at his locker in Citi Field, Capuano spoke wistfully about his experience in Durham, back before the daily grind of a 162-game season. At Duke, he met his wife, who graduated two years after him. He maintained the discipline to keep his high grades while being on the baseball team.
But what does he miss most about his Duke days?
He chuckled at suggestions of Shooters or Cosmic Cantina.
“Actually, the thing I miss most was my walk home at night after a late night of studying—my walk home from the stacks when I’d walk by the chapel,” he said. “It’s just a great feeling being there. You just wanted to learn, to experience it.”
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