‘Koolie’ is cool for Miracle

Hawaiian-born Kuhaulua hits for .333 average

His home is a tropical island, a place with an ideal baseball climate, a land kissed by gentle, warm breezes and eternally warm. Fort Myers Miracle infielder Kaulana Kuhaulua, as is probably apparent by his name, didn’t arrive here from one of the usual baseball islands.

Not Cuba. Not the Dominican Republic, which is located on Hispaniola. Not Puerto Rico. Not even Australia, which has three players on the Miracle roster. And certainly not Big Island, Va., the home of Miracle pitcher Travis Bowyer.

No, Kuhaulua, who is called Koolie by his teammates and coaches, comes from Hawaii. He was born in Honolulu and resides in Waianae. If Kuhaulua, 24, makes it to the majors, it will be a first. His father, Fred, pitched in the majors in 1977 and ’81. No other father-son Hawaiians have played in the majors.

Kuhaulua is hitting .333 but is eight plate appearances short of qualifying for the Class A Florida State League Top 10. With another eight plate appearances, he would have ranked sixth going into Monday night’s game against the Sarasota Red Sox at the Lee County Sports Complex.

He batted third in the lineup Monday. In the first inning, Kuhaulua reached base on an error, stole his team-high fifth base of the season and scored on a single. In the third, he ripped a liner that was speared by Sarasota third baseman Chad Spann.

Maybe he’s on his way. To the majors, that is.

He has enjoyed the guidance of his father and two older baseball-playing brothers, Mahele and Kainoa, to guide him. His brothers didn’t get as far as he has but his dad is one of 28 players born in Hawaii to play in the majors.

“He gave me some tips about going out too much,” Kuhaulua said. “Stay away from partying. Stay away from the women. He’s been there. If you do (partying) it will show on the field. When you get to the big leagues, that’s when you can do all your partying. Make sure you get there first and do all your hard work.”

Then, maybe he can become the 29th Hawaiian in the majors. The tradition began with pitcher Johnnie Williams in 1914. It includes Prince Oana, who played in 1943 and 1945. It includes Onan Masaoka, who pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1999 and 2000. And bigger names such as pitchers Charlie Hough, Ron Darling and Sid Fernandez, who combined to win 466 games.

An important step for Kuhaulua was leaving the island after high school to play at Los Angeles City Junior College and Long Beach State. It wasn’t an easy move, especially that first year in Los Angeles.

“That first year was one of the roughest years I ever had,” Kuhaulua said. “It was hard being away from family. I had an ex-girlfriend at the time. Everyone in Hawaii pretty much knows each other. In L.A., I was like, if I was in trouble or something, I didn’t know who to turn to.”

He stuck it out. The Twins selected him on the 12th round of the 2001 draft. He played that year in the Appalachian League and in 2002 in the Midwest League. He split the 2003 season between Quad Cities of the Midwest League and the FSL.

At 24, Kuhaulua is the second-oldest player on the Miracle. He’s also versatile, able to play shortstop and second base.

“You can hit and run with him,” Fort Myers manager Jose Marzan said. “You can hit him third, first, last. You can hit him anywhere except maybe fourth or fifth in the lineup. So Kaulana brings a lot of versatility to a team, which gives him a lot of value.”

Plus, he has an intangible quality.

“He’s got a little swagger to him,” Miracle pitching coach Eric Rasmussen said.

Maybe he picked that up from his father. Fort Myers hitting instructor Floyd Rayford remembers playing with Fred Kuhaulua with the Salinas Packers of the Class A California League in 1976 or 1977. The Packers?

“You know that’s the artichoke capital of the world, so we got be the Packers or something,” Rayford said.

He remembers the elder Kuhaulua from those days in the California Angels’ farm system.

“Good left-handed pitcher,” Rayford said.

Then in spring training this year, more than a quarter century later, he found another Kuhaulua.

“I remember the first time I saw Koolie, that was the first thing I asked him, ‘Are you Fred Kuhaulua’s son?’ ”

One and the same.

NOTABLE HAWAIian-born players

• Fred Kuhaulua: Pitched for California Angels in 1977 and was 0-0 in three games, with a 15.63 ERA. Pitched for San Diego Padres in 1981 and was 1-0, with a 2.45 ERA, in five games. Father of Miracle infielder Kaulana Kuhaulua.

• Mike Lum: Played 1967-81, hit .247, with 90 homers. Outfielder mainly played for Atlanta Braves.

• Lenn Sakata: Played 1977-87, hit .230, with 25 homers and 30 stolen bases. Infielder played for four teams.

• Ron Darling: Played 1983-95, compiled 136-116 record, with 3.87 ERA. Had 13 shutouts. A 1985 All-Star, when he was 16-6, with 2.90 ERA. 1989 Gold Glove winner.

• Sid Fernandez: Played 1983-97. Compiled 114-96 record, with 3.36 ERA. Named to 1986 and ’87 National League All-Star Teams. Played mainly for Mets.

• Charlie Hough: Played 1970-94. Compiled 216-216 record, with 3.75 ERA and 13 shutouts. A 1986 All-Star. Knuckleballer had 17 complete games in 1984. Pitched until he was 46. In 25 years, he hit one home run.

• Milt Wilcox: Played 1970-86. Compiled 119-113 record, with 4.07 ERA and 10 shutouts. Played for four teams.

• Johnnie Williams: Played in 1914. First Hawaiian-born major-leaguer. Was 0-2, with 6.35 ERA, in four games for Detroit Tigers.