Duane Kuiper
Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1974-1985)
Duane Kuiper was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1985 for the Cleveland Guardians and the San Francisco Giants, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,057 career games, he hit .271 with 917 hits, 1 home runs, and 263 RBI.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Second Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'0" / 175 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1974-09-09
- Last Game
- 1985-06-27
Full name: Duane Eugene Kuiper
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,057 | 3,379 | 329 | 917 | 91 | 29 | 1 | 263 | 52 | 248 | 255 | .271 | .325 | .316 | .641 | -4,820 |
Career AVG .271 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .325 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .316 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — 17.5% below league average.
Career OPS .641 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — 9.4% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | CLE | AL | 10 | 22 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | .500 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1975 | CLE | AL | 90 | 346 | 42 | 101 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 19 | 30 | 26 | .292 | .257 (+13%) | .327 (+11%) | .374 (-12%) | .701 (-1%) | 68.4 |
| 1976 | CLE | AL | 135 | 506 | 47 | 133 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 37 | 10 | 30 | 42 | .263 | .255 (+3%) | .320 (-5%) | .360 (-13%) | .681 (-10%) | -772.4 |
| 1977 | CLE | AL | 148 | 610 | 62 | 169 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 50 | 11 | 37 | 55 | .277 | .264 (+5%) | .329 (-2%) | .401 (-17%) | .730 (-10%) | -941.0 |
| 1978 | CLE | AL | 149 | 547 | 52 | 155 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 43 | 4 | 19 | 35 | .283 | .257 (+10%) | .323 (-4%) | .378 (-11%) | .702 (-8%) | -694.9 |
| 1979 | CLE | AL | 140 | 479 | 46 | 122 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 39 | 4 | 37 | 27 | .255 | .265 (-4%) | .329 (-5%) | .397 (-26%) | .727 (-16%) | -1156.1 |
| 1980 | CLE | AL | 42 | 149 | 10 | 42 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 8 | .282 | .264 (+7%) | .326 (+3%) | .387 (-19%) | .714 (-9%) | -164.4 |
| 1981 | CLE | AL | 72 | 206 | 15 | 53 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 8 | 13 | .257 | .255 (+1%) | .320 (-11%) | .368 (-22%) | .688 (-17%) | -544.8 |
| 1982 | SFN | NL | 107 | 218 | 26 | 61 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 32 | 24 | .280 | .261 (+7%) | .324 (+16%) | .388 (-15%) | .712 (-1%) | 124.6 |
| 1983 | SFN | NL | 72 | 176 | 14 | 44 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 27 | 13 | .250 | .260 (-4%) | .324 (+9%) | .389 (-27%) | .714 (-11%) | -196.6 |
| 1984 | SFN | NL | 83 | 115 | 8 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 10 | .200 | .259 (-23%) | .322 (-15%) | .384 (-46%) | .707 (-32%) | -542.5 |
| 1985 | SFN | NL | 9 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .600 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 1,057 | 3,379 | 329 | 917 | 91 | 29 | 1 | 263 | 52 | 248 | 255 | .271 | — | — | — | — | -4,820 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1057 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 532 | 1651 | 177 | 462 | 1 | 129 | .280 |
| Away | 525 | 1728 | 152 | 455 | 0 | 134 | .263 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985-06-27 | SFG | CIN | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985-06-16 | SFG | SDP | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985-06-11 | SFG | ATL | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985-06-07 | SFG | HOU | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985-05-30 | SFG | NYN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985-05-21 | SFG | PHI | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985-05-18 | SFG | NYN | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985-05-11 | SFG | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1985-05-09 | SFG | CHC | W | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984-09-30 | SFG | LAD | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 6 | 2 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 2B | 920 | 865 | 2000 | 2466 | 76 | 551 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | CLE | 2B | 8 | 5 | 16 | 19 | 0 | 3 |
| 1975 | CLE | 2B | 87 | 87 | 192 | 230 | 12 | 65 |
| 1976 | CLE | 1B | 5 | 2 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 1976 | CLE | 2B | 128 | 119 | 300 | 365 | 9 | 92 |
| 1977 | CLE | 2B | 148 | 148 | 334 | 449 | 12 | 104 |
| 1978 | CLE | 2B | 149 | 149 | 341 | 408 | 16 | 91 |
| 1979 | CLE | 2B | 140 | 137 | 345 | 380 | 9 | 89 |
| 1980 | CLE | 2B | 42 | 42 | 87 | 111 | 1 | 28 |
| 1981 | CLE | 2B | 72 | 59 | 118 | 174 | 5 | 24 |
| 1982 | SFN | 2B | 51 | 44 | 101 | 124 | 5 | 24 |
| 1983 | SFN | 2B | 64 | 57 | 107 | 140 | 3 | 17 |
| 1984 | SFN | 1B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | SFN | 2B | 31 | 18 | 59 | 66 | 4 | 14 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 6 |
| Second Base | 920 |
| Designated Hitter | 3 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Player of the Week | Week of 1976-07-30 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Hills Community College | Centerville | IA | 1969, 1970 |
| Southern Illinois University Carbondale | Carbondale | IL | 1971 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Duane Kuiper (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Duane Kuiper: the record in brief
September 9, 1974 and June 27, 1985 bracket Duane Kuiper's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the Cleveland Indians (1974 through 1981) and the San Francisco Giants (1982 to 1985). Kuiper is listed as a second baseman at 6'0" and 175 pounds. The bio says Kuiper batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Kuiper was born on June 19, 1950, in Racine, WI, USA. The given name on file is Duane Eugene Kuiper.
Across 1,057 games at the plate, Kuiper's career line reads 917 hits in 3,379 at bats for a .271 average, plus 1 home run, 263 runs batted in, and 52 stolen bases. Kuiper got on base at a .325 rate and slugged .316 (.641 OPS). Kuiper hit .271 while the league hit .260 over the same span, a figure close to average. The OPS comparison is .641 to a league .708, 9.4% below average. The highest hit total in a season was 169, in 1977. Among the seasons with the heaviest workload, the best average was .283 in 1978, 10% above that year's league mark of .257.
Frequently Asked Questions about Duane Kuiper
- What years did Duane Kuiper play?
- Duane Kuiper played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1985.
- Was Duane Kuiper a pitcher?
- No. Duane Kuiper was a position player (Second Baseman).
- How many home runs did Duane Kuiper hit?
- Duane Kuiper hit 1 career home runs with 917 hits.
- What was Duane Kuiper's career batting average?
- Duane Kuiper batted .271 over his career, with 917 hits in 3,379 at bats.
- How many RBI did Duane Kuiper have?
- Duane Kuiper drove in 263 runs in his career.
- Is Duane Kuiper in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Duane Kuiper has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.