Micah Kilakila Kaaihue (; born March 29, 1984) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

. Kaaihue went to

Iolani School Iolani is a masculine Hawaiian name meaning "royal ''hawk''." It comes from the Hawaiian words ''ʻio'', meaning "Hawaiian hawk," and ''lani'', meaning "royal." It may refer to: ;Places *ʻIolani School, a private school located in Hawaii *ʻIolan ...

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, Hawaii.

Professional career

Kansas City Royals

The

chose Kaʻaihue in the 15th round, with the 438th overall selection, of the

2002 Major League Baseball draft The 2002 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis (author), Michael Lewis' 2003 book ''Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first r ...

.Kila Kaaihue Batting Statistics
Retrieved August 21, 2010. He played for the

Gulf Coast Royals The Gulf Coast League (GCL) Royals were a minor league baseball franchise in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League from 1971–1978, 1982–1983 and 1985–2002. The club was owned and operated by the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. The ...

in , Single-A

Burlington Bees The Burlington Bees are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Burlington, Iowa, and have played their home games at Community Field since 1947. Founded in 1889, the Bees played in Minor League Baseball' ...

in and , and the Single-A Advanced

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eight d ...

in . In , he played for the Double-A

Wichita Wranglers The Wichita Wranglers were a minor league baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team, which played in the Texas League, was the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres from 1987 to 1994 and the Kansas City Royals fro ...

. Kaaihue split between the Single-A Advanced

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. Fra ...

and Wichita. In , Kaaihue played for Kansas City's new Double-A affiliate, the

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. T ...

. There, he led the minor leagues in walks, with 104. He also played for the Triple-A

Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 41st-most-populous city, Omaha had a popu ...

. When rosters expanded on September 1, 2008, Kaaihue was called up to the major leagues. He made his major league debut on September 4, . He hit his first major league

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

on September 20, 2008. Kaaihue spent the entire 2009 season in Omaha. He began the 2010 season in Omaha, and was called up to Kansas City in May. In his first Major League at bat that season, he

pinch hit In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Am ...

for

Willie Bloomquist William Paul "Willie" Bloomquist (; born November 27, 1977) is an American baseball coach and former utility player, who is the current head baseball coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils. He played college baseball at Arizona State for coach Pa ...

in the 8th inning of a May 6 game against the Texas Rangers, and hit a

run batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI) single that broke an 11-11 tie. After having a disappointing start of the season Kila started getting hot finishing the 2010 Royals season with eight home runs and 25 RBIs. Kaaihue started the 2011 season as the regular

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the Kansas City Royals. He hit a

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not have an opp ...

on April 1 as the Royals beat the

Angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

2-1. Mired in a hitting slump from the start of the season, averaging just .195 in 23 games, with only six RBIs and two home runs, Kaaihue was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on May 5.

Eric Hosmer Eric John Hosmer (born October 24, 1989) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs. Internationally, Hosmer ...

was called up to replace him. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

on September 21, 2011.

Oakland Athletics

On September 27, 2011, the Royals traded Kaʻaihue to the

for minor league pitcher Ethan Hollingsworth. On June 6, 2012, the Athletics designated him for assignment. In 39 games for the Athletics, he hit .234/.295/.398 with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On November 21, 2012, Kaaihue signed a minor league contract with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

, but was released from the

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, w ...

, Arizona's Triple-A affiliate, on June 1, 2013. He led the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in home runs.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

On June 15, 2013, Kaaihue signed with the

in Japan.

Washington Nationals

On January 18, 2015, he signed a minor league contract with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

. He was released on May 24 after hitting just .194 in the minors.

Miami Marlins

On June 22, 2015, he signed a minor league deal with the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

Coaching career

In July 2016 Ka'aihue accepted the head coaching job at Henry J. Kaiser High School. Upon the completion of his degree in

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

in 2020, Kaaihue joined the coaching staff for the

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wāhine are the athletic teams that represent the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UH), in Honolulu, Hawaii. The UH athletics program is a member of the Big West Conference in most sports and competes at ...

as a volunteer assistant.

Personal

Kaaihue's younger brother, Kala Ka'aihue, is a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

. He is of Hawaiian descent.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ka'aihue, Kila 1984 births Living people Baseball coaches from Hawaii American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Hawaii Burlington Bees players Gulf Coast Royals players Hawaii Rainbow Warriors baseball coaches High Desert Mavericks players High school baseball coaches in the United States Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Kansas City Royals players Leones del Escogido players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball first basemen New Orleans Zephyrs players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Oakland Athletics players Omaha Royals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Reno Aces players Sacramento River Cats players Surprise Rafters players Syracuse Chiefs players Wichita Wranglers players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Native Hawaiian sportspeople