A former professional baseball player has decided to take a swing at politics.

Geoff Duncan announced he plans to run for the newly created District 26 post representing Forsyth County in the state House of Representatives.

Duncan, a former pitcher in the Florida Marlins organization and current business owner, said he supports smaller government, fostering private sector job creation and improving transportation infrastructure, among other issues.

“My No. 1 priority is to get government out of the way so Georgia can get back to work,” Duncan said in his announcement. “While some politicians are focused on passing new laws, my first job in office is to work on repealing the current ones that are crippling our economy and limiting private sector job creation.”

Duncan is the second candidate to announce his intent to pursue the House seat in the July 31 Republican primary, joining attorney and former state lawmaker Tom Knox.

Duncan moved to Forsyth County in 1996, but grew up in the area.

He’s a graduate of Chattahoochee High School in Alpharetta, where he met his wife, Brooke.

The couple graduated from Georgia Tech, where Duncan played in the 1994 College World Series.

Since his baseball days, Duncan has worked as an entrepreneur, first with a marketing business and now as owner of Striking Designs Inc.

With that perspective, Duncan said the solution to helping foster business is to decrease the reach of government.

“It’s not just about dollars and cents,” he said. “It’s about giving people … the freedom to grow their companies to get them closer to the American dream.

“Hard-working people in this county know what they have to do to be successful. They just need the roadblocks to get out of the way.”

Duncan and his wife have three sons, Parker, 9, Bayler, 6 and Ryder, 1. The family worships at North Point Community Church.

Duncan said he and Knox, who served as a state representative in House District 24 from 2001-10 and later ran for state insurance and safety fire commissioner, come from “two totally separate walks of life.”

“My resume’s going to look a lot different than a lot of folks that are in the Capitol right now,” he said. “I’m not a career politician. I’m not an attorney.

“I don’t want to transition into politics and become a politician. I want to be a famizly-centered small business owner that integrates into the political system.”