Hazen Shirley "Kiki" Cuyler
August 30, 1898 - February 11, 1950
Member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame
Kiki Cuyler, however, had the Charleston mastered,
and won many contests during his Cub days.
- Clifton Blue Parker,
on Kiki's dancing prowess
Kiki Cuyler was a professional baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Brooklyn Dodgers from 1921 to 1938. Primarily known for his fleet-footedness, Kiki had a strong career and was selected for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968.
Kiki's primary strength was his speed and quick bat, which made him a prototype leadoff hitter. However, his relatively weak fielding skills relegated him to playing the outfield, where it took him three years (1921 to 1923) to break into the Pittsburgh Pirates' lineup.
Kiki Cuyler Fast Facts! His nickname, "Kiki," was actually pronounced "Cuy Cuy," much like the first syllable of his last name! This was due to other players shouting out "Cuy! Cuy!" when a ball was hit in Cuyler's direction, alerting all players that the ball was Cuyler's ball to field!
By 1925, Kiki was the star player on the Pirates, who were perennially one of the strong teams in the National League. 1925 saw the Pirates make it to the World Series, playing against the Washington Senators and their already-legendary pitcher, Walter Johnson. In the decisive Game Seven, Kiki cleared the bases with a double off Walter Johnson in the eighth inning, scoring the winning run that gave the Pittsburgh Pirates the World Championship that year.
Kiki Cuyler Fast Facts! In September 1925, Cuyler hit safely in ten consecutive at-bats, setting a National League record that stands to this day!
1925 was Cuyler's best season, only his second as a regular outfielder. That season, Cuyler batted .357, stroked 220 hits, scored 144 runs, had 102 RBI, and stole 41 bases. Kiki led the league in triples that season, and was in the top ten in the league in 16 offensive categories. Were it not for one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history from Rogers Hornsby that year (in which Hornsby led the National League in batting average, home runs, and RBI), Cuyler would almost assuredly have been the National League MVP.
After two more seasons in Pittsburgh, Kiki was traded in the 1927 offseason to the Chicago Cubs, who were also one of the perennial powers in the National League. Kiki would go on to play in the World Series (and lose) twice for the North Siders.
Kiki Cuyler Fast Facts! Kiki is probably the only Hall of Famer to be benched for a month by his manager for lackadaisical play in his prime! In 1927, after winning a bitter contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kiki was on rather shaky ground with the team. In August, Kiki failed to slide into second base on a force play and was benched for the remainder of the season, including the World Series (which Pittsburgh lost to the legendary Yankees of that year). After the season, Kiki was traded to the Chicago Cubs for a pittance: Sparky Adams and Pete Scott.
While in Chicago, Kiki was consistently among the league leaders in many statistical categories and was a fan favorite for his vigorous (and sometimes reckless) play. This would come to cost him in 1932, in which a foot injury would sideline him for part of the summer; a recurrence of the injury the following year sidelined Kiki for half of the season. He rebounded with a strong campaign in 1934, in which he was elected to the All Star team, but age, years of rough play, and nagging injuries began to catch up to the man whose playing style required a healthy body.
Kiki Cuyler finished his career with a couple of seasons in Cincinnati and a final one in Brooklyn, both lesser teams, and went on to become a minor league coach and manager. He eventually broke back into the major leagues as a coach for the Boston Red Sox, but he died suddenly in 1950 just before the season began, at age 51.
Kiki Cuyler Fast Facts! Kiki was widely known in baseball for being a teetotaler; he refused to drink or smoke at a time when baseball players were seen as a rather rough bunch!
Kiki Cuyler was posthumously inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968 by the Veteran's Committee. Kiki was a borderline candidate, but the head of the committee at the time, Frank Frisch, was very fond of pushing players that he had once played with into the Hall, even with questionable merit. Would Kiki have made it in otherwise? He is a definitive borderline candidate.
Kiki Cuyler Fast Facts! Before becoming a professional baseball player, Kiki worked on the assembly lines for both the Buick and Chevrolet automotive companies!
Statistics
Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG TB SH HBP GDP
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+---+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+---+---+---+
1921 22 PIT NL 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0
1922 23 PIT NL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1923 24 PIT NL 11 40 4 10 1 1 0 2 2 3 5 3 .250 .348 .325 13 0 1
1924 25 PIT NL 117 466 94 165 27 16 9 85 32 11 30 62 .354 .402 .539 251 12 7
1925 26 PIT NL 153 617 144 220 43 26 18 102 41 13 58 56 .357 .423 .598 369 12 13
1926 27 PIT NL 157 614 113 197 31 15 8 92 35 50 66 .321 .380 .459 282 21 9
1927 28 PIT NL 85 285 60 88 13 7 3 31 20 37 36 .309 .394 .435 124 5 3
1928 29 CHC NL 133 499 92 142 25 9 17 79 37 51 61 .285 .359 .473 236 24 7
1929 30 CHC NL 139 509 111 183 29 7 15 102 43 66 56 .360 .438 .532 271 16 5
1930 31 CHC NL 156 642 155 228 50 17 13 134 37 72 49 .355 .428 .547 351 17 10
1931 32 CHC NL 154 613 110 202 37 12 9 88 13 72 54 .330 .404 .473 290 20 5
1932 33 CHC NL 110 446 58 130 19 9 10 77 9 29 43 .291 .340 .442 197 10 4
1933 34 CHC NL 70 262 37 83 13 3 5 35 4 21 29 .317 .376 .447 117 7 4 10
1934 35 CHC NL 142 559 80 189 42 8 6 69 15 31 62 .338 .377 .474 265 13 4 10
1935 36 CHC NL 45 157 22 42 5 1 4 18 3 10 16 .268 .331 .389 61 5 5 3
CIN NL 62 223 36 56 8 3 2 22 5 27 18 .251 .337 .341 76 1 2 2
TOT NL 107 380 58 98 13 4 6 40 8 37 34 .258 .335 .361 137 6 7 5
1936 37 CIN NL 144 567 96 185 29 11 7 74 16 47 67 .326 .380 .453 257 7 2 7
1937 38 CIN NL 117 406 48 110 12 4 0 32 10 36 50 .271 .333 .320 130 5 2 15
1938 39 BRO NL 82 253 45 69 10 8 2 23 6 34 23 .273 .363 .399 101 1 2 6
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+---+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+---+---+---+
18 Seasons 1879 7161 1305 2299 394 157 128 1065 328 27 676 752 .321 .386 .474 3391 176 85 53
Sources
The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract by Bill James
http://www.baseballreference.com, accessed June 20 and 21, 2005
Hall of Fame Index
Candy Cummings | Ray Dandridge