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Duane Kuiper
Second baseman
Born: June 19, 1950 (1950-06-19) (age 59) Racine, Wisconsin
Batted: Left	Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 9, 1974 for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
June 27, 1985 for the San Francisco Giants
Career statistics
Batting average	.271
Home runs	1
Hits	971
Runs batted in	263
Teams
As Player Cleveland Indians (1974-1981) San Francisco Giants (1982-1985)
Career highlights and awards

Duane Eugene Kuiper (born June 19, 1950 in Racine, Wisconsin) is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians (1974-1981) and San Francisco Giants (1982-1985).

Kuiper's career batting average was .271, about average in the league at the time, but his power was virtually non-existent — in 3,379 at bats he had only one home run, which he hit against Chicago White Sox pitcher Steve Stone on August 29, 1977. It is the major league record for most at-bats with only one HR. However, since the game was on national television, Kuiper's amazing feat was captured on video--the Giants telecasts (of which he is a part) will run the highlight from time to time to poke fun at Kuiper.

Kuiper holds the distinction of being the only Major League player to hit two bases-loaded triples in a game, July 27, 1978, at Yankee Stadium.

Kuiper is currently a radio and television sportscaster for the San Francisco Giants, and is part of the duo known as "Kruk and Kuip" along with former major league pitcher, Mike Krukow. He is the play-by-play broadcaster for games on CSN Bay Area. Both Krukow and Kuiper can be heard in the Electronic Arts video games MVP Baseball 2003, MVP Baseball 2004, and MVP Baseball 2005. Kuiper made the TV call for Barry Bonds' historic 756th home run which broke Hank Aaron's record, although the historic call is that of KNBR radio announcer Jon Miller. His call of Bonds' 715th home run to pass Babe Ruth however is considered the historic call for that home run as radio announcer Dave Flemming's microphone cut out at the exact moment the ball was hit.^[1]

Duane was only the first of a family of baseball broadcasters, all working in the San Francisco Bay Area. His younger brother, Glen Kuiper, is the play-by-play announcer for the Oakland Athletics, a job mirroring his older brother's a few miles across the bay. Their middle brother, Jeff, is a television producer for the Giants who produces Duane's broadcasts^[1].

Kuiper's trademark home run call is "He hits it high... hits it deep... this one is OUTTA HERE!"

Kuiper's 1983 baseball card (No. 263, Fleer's) shows him holding the fat end of a bat whose handle end is broken and hangs by a splinter.

Kuiper is a graduate of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, where he was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. Kuiper now lives in Danville, California, with his wife Michelle, son Cole, and daughter Dannon.

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• San Francisco Giants Broadcast Team on the Comcast SportNet Bay Area site

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Ortiz, Jorge L. (June 26, 2006). "Work ethic makes for good TV from Kuipers" (in English). USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2006-06-21-kuipers-tv_x.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-10.