Ka'aihue
Two brothers. One Dream. Kala and Kila may draw a double-take when you look at their stats, but their drive and determination will have fans in both the Braves and the

Jason BLASCO
MLNSportsZone.com

Kila and Kala Ka’aihue are more than a statistical double-take. Born exactly a year apart, the Kailua, Hawaii natives share the same birthday, play the same position of first base, and are gunning for the same dream:  To play in Major League Baseball. Kila finds himself at the AA level in the Kansas City Royals organization, playing for the Texas League Wichita Wranglers. Kala is with the Atlanta Braves organization, playing for the Class A Myrtle Beach Penguins. “Almost every day we’ve been dreaming a lot about being in professional baseball,” says Kala Ka’aihue (KAH-AH-E-HOO-AY), the younger of the two brothers. “All we’ve wanted to do since we were little kids is be the guy on TV and we still haven’t gotten there.” They follow in the footsteps of their father, Kala Ka’aihue Sr., who played 11 seasons of professional baseball with the White Sox, Cardinals, Padres, and Pirates. “Growing up, it was helpful my first two years of playing pro ball to have my dad as a reference,” Kila Ka’aihue said. “My first year of professional baseball and going through the highs and lows was big because he was there.” The Ka’aihue brothers have had a sibling rivalry that has been friendly but fierce, from the home run derby in their backyard as kids to the golf course today. Kila picked up a golf club after the Kansas City Royals drafted him. Kala got the fever in 2003, fresh out of high school. “The golf games are extremely competitive,” Kala says. “We have always competed against each other, which is great, and we still talk trash. He beats me more than I beat him.” The Ka’aihue’s sibling rivararly doesn’t lack in compassion.  The two train together in the off season and call each other almost every other day to check on their progress. “We are pretty close. We talk quite a bit,” Kila says. “Not everything we talk about is always about baseball. He asks me about how things are going and I ask him about how things are going in his life, and we usually go from there.” In the off season, the they train and push each other to their physical limits in a regimen that includes six days of lifting, cardio, and training with big leaguer Lenny Sakata.

“It’s a real plus to train together,” Kala. said. “We can’t take a day off if the other guy doesn’t feel like working out. We push each other.”

The brothers were fortunate to be ‘discovered’ in Hawaii, a place that isn’t known to be a baseball talent hotbed.

“I was fortunate to play in the same league as Brandon League and Bronson Sardinha (MLN FAB50 Baseball 2004 No. 40),” Kila said. “The Major League Scouts would come and watch them for like a week and I played well the week they came out.”

Kila: Rocky Road Rebound

Kila, who has been in professional baseball since 2002 as a 15th round pick in the June amateur draft of that year, has really enjoyed a solid professional baseball career. 

It began in the Gulf Coast League where he hit .259, with 3 homers, and 8 doubles in his first season. After two seasons playing with the Midwest League Burlington Bees, Kila had a breakout year last season in High Desert, where he hit .304, 31 doubles, 20 homers and 90 RBIs.

That performance gave Kila a major boost going into this season, but knee injuries have caused more than three months of down time.

“Coming into this year, I just wanted to repeat what I did last year,” Kila Ka’aihue said. “I was hurt a little bit here and there, and dealing with the physical problems was just difficult.

According to hitting coach Al LaBeouf, how Kila dealt with the setbacks told him more about his potential then his .197 average, with 15 doubles, four homers, and 39 RBIs did.

“He went through some tough times and he had probably the toughest year of his career,” LaBeouf said. “He could have packed it in a long time ago. It didn’t matter though. He was in the cage working on specific things he needed to get done.”

The post-season has been sweet revenge on his troubles, though. Kila came through in the clutch of the Texas League playoffs for the Wranglers against arch rival the Tulsa Drillers. His first home run of the season was a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 10th inning that gave the Wichita Wranglers a 10-7 victory over the Tulsa Drillers

Kala: Going to the Birds Myrtle Beach Pelicans manager Rocket Wheeler talked in the same vernacular when mentioning Kala Ka’aihue, who was drafted in the 22nd round (654th overall) of the 2003 player pluck by the Boston Red Sox, whom he turned down.  He did not enter the draft again, and was signed by the Braves as a free agent in 2005. Since then, he has been one of the hottest hitters in the Atlanta Braves farm organization, burning Rome (GA) to the ground on .329 with 15 home runs, 16 doubles and 49 RBI.

He made the MLN Ones2Watch Baseball 2006 rankings of longer-term developing players at 17, which earned him a promotion from Low Class-A Rome to High-A Myrtle Beach this season. For the Pelicans, he delivered .223, 13 homers and 39 RBIs, drawing comparisons to Andres Galarraga, despite having his season cut short 16 games after getting hit by a pitch.

“He’s got a chance to be something special,” Wheeler said. “He uses the whole field and can hit deep at any part of the ballpark.”

Wheeler also discusses Kila’s potential and said he felt the competitive jolt he possesses is a family trait.

“He has a great competitive nature,” Wheeler said. “That comes from great genes and a great family. He’s a competitive kid all the way around and works on his skills. It’s a tremendous help because of his dad and his brother playing on the professional level. It helps the players mature professionally much quicker.  He’s going to be something to reckon with down the road.”