Hazen Shirley "Kiki" Cuyler (; August 30, 1898 – February 11, 1950) was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Brooklyn Dodgers from 1921 until 1938.
Cuyler led the National League (NL) in stolen bases four times, runs scored two times and had a batting average of over .350 on four occasions. His 26 triples in 1925 were the second most triples in any season after 1900. He compiled over 200 hits in three separate seasons and won the World Series in 1925 with the Pirates. A career .321 hitter, he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968 by the Veterans Committee.
Early life
Cuyler was born in Harrisville, Michigan, on August 30, 1898, to George and Anna Cuyler. George and Anna were born in Canada, where George played semi-professional baseball. His ancestors relocated there at the start of the Revolutionary War, then later moved to Michigan in the 1880s. While in school, Cuyler excelled in baseball, football, basketball and athletics. He did not drink or smoke throughout school. until he moved back to Michigan to work at a Buick Motors assembly plant in Flint. He played for the Buick plant baseball team as well as in the Industrial League which had games in Flint and Detroit. The Bay City Wolves, of the Michigan-Ontario League, signed Cuyler to a contract in 1920. It was in Nashville that his nickname had taken hold with the fans. Two explanations have been given for the origin of Cuyler's nickname, "Kiki". In the first version, he had been known as "Cuy" since high school. The echoed name caught on with Nashville's fans. In the second explanation, "Kiki Cuyler" came from the player's stuttering problem and the way it sounded when Cuyler said his own last name.
He was promoted to the Pirates for his first full major league season in 1924. He played a platoon outfield position, splitting time with Carson Bigbee. At the end of May he had batted .400 over his first 13 games and earned a spot as a starting outfielder. Former Pittsburgh manager and Hall of Famer Fred Clarke said that "Cuyler might become a second [Ty] Cobb"
thumb|upright|Cuyler in 1925 with the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]]
On June 4, 1925 Cuyler hit for the cycle, walked and stole a base in a 16–3 win over the Phillies. Later that year in August, Cuyler hit two inside-the-park home runs in a single game at Baker Bowl, the very compact baseball stadium in Philadelphia. From September 18–20, 1925 he tied the NL record by recording a hit in ten straight at bats. He hit eight inside-the-park home runs, and led the league with 144 runs scored and triples with 26, his .357 average was a career high and it was the second time he hit over .350 in his career. The Pirates won the NL Pennant and faced the Washington Senators in the 1925 World Series. Cuyler only hit .269 in the World Series, but his two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning of game seven scored the deciding runs, the Pirates won Game 7 9–7. The middle of the season was a turning point for Cuyler and the team, when on August 11, Babe Adams, Carson Bigbee and team captain and Hall of Famer Max Carey voted in a petition to remove vice president Fred Clarke from games. The Pirates finished the rest of their season 23–24 and Cuyler batted only .288 after the incident. He had argued with first-year manager Donie Bush throughout the season and on August 6, when he did not break up a double play he was fined $50 ($ in current dollar terms) by manager Bush. The Pirates made the World Series in 1927, but due to the dispute with Donie Bush, Cuyler did not play a single game in the series and remained on the bench despite fans wanting him to play. That November, Cuyler was traded to the Chicago Cubs for infielder Sparky Adams and outfielder Pete Scott.
Chicago Cubs and later career
With the Cubs, Cuyler played his natural position of right field, and batted third in the lineup. He suffered an ankle injury In 1929 he returned for a fully healthy season, and played in the most games since 1926. He led the league in stolen bases for the third time and hit .360 which marked the third time he batted over .350 in his career.
thumb|upright|left|1933 [[Goudey baseball card of Cuyler on the Chicago Cubs]]
In 1930 Cuyler set career highs in hits (228), runs scored (155), and RBI (134), and led the league in stolen bases for the fourth and final time in his career. On August 31, 1932 Cuyler had one of the best games of his career. In the bottom of the ninth inning, with two outs, down 5–4 against the Giants, Cuyler singled home the tying run, which raised his hit total to 4 for the game. The Giants scored 4 runs in the top of the tenth inning. After two straight outs to start the bottom of the tenth inning, teammate Mark Koenig hit a solo home run, this was followed by three straight singles. Cuyler came up to bat with two runners on, down 9–7 and hit a three-run game-winning home run.
Cuyler suffered another injury, this time during an exhibition game on March 29, 1933. He slid into a base during a steal attempt and fractured his right fibula, As a free agent, he was signed by the Cincinnati Reds in July 1935. where he did not record a home run for the first time since 1923 when he played 11 games. After being released by the Reds in October, He suffered a heart attack while ice fishing in Glennie, Michigan, on February 2, 1950. While at the hospital he developed a blood clot in his leg, His remains are interred in Saint Anne Cemetery in Harrisville Township, Michigan.
Cuyler finished his career with a .321 batting average, 1,305 runs, 2,299 hits, 394 doubles, 157 triples, 128 home runs, 1,065 RBI, 676 walks and 328 stolen bases. His 228 hits and 155 runs scored in 1930 were second most in Cubs history, and his 50 doubles that year set a team record. He batted over .300 ten times in his major league career. The Sporting News stated that Cuyler was "a model on and off the field" Cuyler was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968. It operated until it burned down in December 2018. In 2008, State Highway M-72 within Alcona County was named the "Hazen Shirley 'Kiki' Cuyler Memorial Highway".