An outstanding fielder who twice led AL second basemen in fielding percentage, Kuiper's disciplined hitting style made him a fine spoiler: three times (against Andy Hassler, Nolan Ryan, and Ron Guidry), he was the only man to get a hit. On August 29, 1977 after 1,381 ML at-bats without a home run, he finally popped one, off Steve Stone. In his remaining 1,997 plate appearances, the lean infielder managed (intentionally, he contends) to not hit another one. The clowning Kuiper took a warped pride in his accomplishment, saying: "One is better than none, but any more than that and people start expecting them." (JCA)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»January 12, 1972:
In the secondary phase of the January draft, the Reds pick JC pitcher Tom Hume, the Braves get Sam Bowen, and the Red Sox, picking 1,653, take Roy Smalley. Duane Kuiper is picked by the Indians.
»May 30, 1977: Twenty-two-year-old Dennis Eckersley (5–3) fires a no-hitter as the Indians top the Angels, 1–0. Eck walks one and strikes out 12. Frank Tanana (8–2) with three shutouts in his last four games, takes the loss. The only run comes in the 1st inning when Duane Kuiper lines a ball to CF Gil Flores that skips under his glove for a triple. Jim Norris ten squeezes Kuiper home.
»August 29, 1977:
After going to bat 1381 times without a homer, Cleveland SS Duane Kuiper clubs a Steve Stone pitch into the RF stands. When Kuiper hangs his glove and his .271 average up in 1985, he will have gone to bat 3379 times with just this one home run.
»July 27, 1978: The Yankees win the first game of a doubleheader 11–0, but the Indians rebound to win the 2nd, 17–5. Duane Kuiper ties the major-league record with two bases-loaded triples in the nightcap, only the 3rd player (after Bill Bruton and Elmer Valo) to do so in the 20th century.
»August 10, 1978:
The Red Sox trip the Indians, 6–5, in 13 innings as Butch Hobson scores the tying run on a bizarre play: He lofts a pop fly behind second base and races around to 2B as 2B Duane Kuiper loses the ball in the sun. Kuiper picks up the ball but bumps into 1B Andre Thornton and the ball rolls towards first base and C Bo Diaz. With Hobson motoring towards 3B, Diaz overthrows the base. Hobson, having slid into the third, picks himself up and races home. The throw from the outfield is in time to Diaz, but he can't get the ball out of his glove and a sliding Hobson is home free. A George Scott double and Rick Burleson single then wins the game. Bob Stanley (8–1) picks up the victory.
»September 24, 1978: Ron Guidry (23–3) gains his 3rd 2-hit shutout of the month, 4–0 over the Indians. The two Indian hits are by Duane Kuiper, the 2nd time this year that he has recorded the only hits in a game. The Yankees ace also two-hitted the Red Sox on September 9th (7–0) and 15th (4–0). It is Guidry's 9th shutout of the year, a Yankee record, and ties the American League record for southpaws set by Boston lefty Babe Ruth in 1916. The Red Sox stay one game in back of New York by topping Toronto 7–6.
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