Kiki Cuyler
The speedster they called "Cuyler the Spoiler" could flat-out rake. His .321 career average across 18 seasons places him among the elite contact hitters of the dead-ball-to-live-ball transition era, when pitching still dominated and .300 was genuinely impressive.
What separated Cuyler from other high-average guys was his combination of power and speed. Those 128 homers don't look like much today, but they represented legitimate pop for a right fielder in the 1920s and 1930s. He was the rare player who could steal bases, drive in runs (1,065 RBIs), and consistently get on base at a high clip.
The Veterans Committee got this one right in 1968. Cuyler represents that golden generation of National League outfielders who bridged baseball's early eras with the modern game, proving you could hit for both average and power long before anyone called it a "five-tool player."
Career · Batting
18 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | PIT | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — |
| 1922 | PIT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1923 | PIT | 11 | 40 | 0 | 2 | .250 | — | — |
| 1924 | PIT | 117 | 466 | 9 | 85 | .354 | — | — |
| 1925 | PIT | 153 | 617 | 18 | 102 | .357 | — | — |
| 1926 | PIT | 157 | 614 | 8 | 92 | .321 | — | — |
| 1927 | PIT | 85 | 285 | 3 | 31 | .309 | — | — |
| 1928 | CHC | 133 | 499 | 17 | 79 | .285 | — | — |
| 1929 | CHC | 139 | 509 | 15 | 102 | .360 | — | — |
| 1930 | CHC | 156 | 642 | 13 | 134 | .355 | — | — |
| 1931 | CHC | 154 | 613 | 9 | 88 | .330 | — | — |
| 1932 | CHC | 110 | 446 | 10 | 77 | .291 | — | — |
| 1933 | CHC | 70 | 262 | 5 | 35 | .317 | — | — |
| 1934 | CHC | 142 | 559 | 6 | 69 | .338 | — | — |
| 1935 | CIN | 107 | 380 | 6 | 40 | .258 | — | — |
| 1936 | CIN | 144 | 567 | 7 | 74 | .326 | — | — |
| 1937 | CIN | 117 | 406 | 0 | 32 | .271 | — | — |
| 1938 | BRO | 82 | 253 | 2 | 23 | .273 | — | — |
| Career | 1879 | 7161 | 128 | 1065 | .321 | — | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.