ARLINGTON, Texas » Before last September, Kila Ka‘aihue had only played for one organization during his nine seasons of professional baseball. But after Kansas City optioned him to Triple-A on May 5, 2011, so top prospect Eric Hosmer could make his long-awaited debut, the writing was on the wall for this Kailua native.
The 6-foot-4 first baseman had been with the Royals since 2002, when he went in the 15th round of the amateur draft. Kansas City designated him for assignment last September and six days later, he was traded to Oakland, a change that has definitely agreed with him.
"Been good, new scenery, great group of guys, kind of a fresh start for me," Ka‘aihue said.
One big plus associated with the move west was being teammates again with friend Kurt Suzuki, a Wailuku native who has been Oakland’s starting catcher for the last few years. "We grew up playing together," Ka‘aihue said. "We went on a few trips together. It was real easy, a good transition."
And given their friendship, it isn’t surprising to hear that Suzuki is playing an integral role in helping ease Ka‘aihue’s transition to his new club.
"(He’s helped me) a lot, as far as getting to know the front office, coaching staff, people I had never met before to give me a base of what to expect. That was big," he said.
Besides Suzuki, his other new teammates have been equally welcoming, and Ka‘aihue, 28, has really taken to the subdued vibe the A’s have under current manager Bob Melvin.
"It’s relaxed. It’s comfortable," Ka‘aihue said. "We’re playing good baseball. Even when we’ve lost, we’ve played good baseball. Our pitching staff has been excellent and carried us through a lot of our early struggles. It’s been real fun."
Ka‘aihue has played in 29 of Oakland’s 44 games this season. Through Tuesday, he’s hitting .261 with eight doubles, one home run and nine RBIs. One of his biggest RBIs came in a 5-4 win over the two-time defending American League champion Rangers on Thursday. He delivered a run-scoring single in the top of the 10th that plated the eventual winning run.
On Monday, Ka‘aihue drove in what proved to be the winning run with a third-inning single off former Waipahu High pitcher Jerome Williams of the Los Angeles Angels.
So far, he has played first base and as a designated hitter. But no matter where he’s been in the lineup, his new skipper is glad to have him aboard and respects his tenacity.
"He’s been really good," Melvin said. "He’s been fighting for his life since the first day of spring training and earned every at-bat he’s gotten. Has gotten reps at first and DH, a guy who each and every day has had to earn his keep and earn his way here."
And while some might think he holds a grudge against the Royals over how things ended for him in Kansas City, he does not.
"It wasn’t that hard (to leave) because I’d been there for a while. Didn’t really do that well in the big leagues with them, but got passed up a bunch of times, too," Ka‘aihue said. "It was nice to get out of there to a place that at the time I felt wanted me and liked me. It’s close to home. It’s on the West Coast. It wasn’t hard at all. I was actually looking forward to it a lot."
Speaking of the Royals, Oakland has already faced them once this year, playing them in the Bay Area in April. However, it wasn’t at all weird to face his former team.
"It was nice. I got to see a bunch of the guys who I came up with," he said. "Got to hang out, see them, catch up and stuff like that. I’m looking forward to the next road trip when we go there."
Steve Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas.
