Elijah Dukes

Elijah, where are you now?
We're waiting and hoping somehow
That God can guide our hearts and minds
True contentment start to find
Elijah, where are you now?

As surely as the Lord God lives,
Life is the greatest gift God gives.
-Lost and Found

Young and talented Elijah Dukes of the Rays is crushing the baseball, and allegedly his wife as well.

In late April, Tampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Elijah Dukes barged into his wife's middle school classroom at lunchtime.

He was so irate that she ran to get the principal and a deputy, who banned Dukes from the property, records show.

His wife, who said she fears for her life, sought a restraining order and told the court it was the latest in a string of outbursts by the 22-year-old rookie player.

Dukes' wife, NiShea Gilbert, 26, a teacher at Beth Shields Middle School in Ruskin, told the court in another filing Thursday that her husband threatened to kill her and sent a photo of a handgun to her cell phone.

She played the St. Petersburg Times a voice mail message she said was from Dukes:
"You dead, dawg," says an angry voice. "I ain't even bulls-------. Your kids, too."

Dukes is in his first season with the Devil Rays, and his eight home runs - the most by any American League rookie - speak to his professional promise.

This article is a week old. A court hearing 5/30/07 had a judge ordering Dukes to stay away from the Mrs for one year and submit to a checkup from the neck up.

Dukes will be 23 in about three weeks and has five kids from four women, a little less than halfway to Shawn Kemp status.

Oh, and he hit two more dingers for a total of ten.