Clyde Donald Kaiser (born February 3, 1935) is an American former professional baseball player and a pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs between 1955 and 1957. A high school phenom from Byng, Oklahoma, Kaiser was the first "Bonus Baby" signed by the Cub franchise. He threw and batted right-handed and was listed as 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall and 195 pounds (88 kg).
At Byng High School, Kaiser won 49 of 50 decisions and pitched seven no-hitters and two perfect games. He attended East Central University on a basketball scholarship, but was signed by the Cubs for a $15,000 bonus after one semester.
Compelled by the bonus rule to spend the first two years of his pro career on the Cubbies' big-league roster, Kaiser worked in only 11 games and 181⁄3 innings pitched in 1955, with no decisions and a high 5.40 earned run average. He was used sparingly to begin 1956, until June 2, when he received his first starting assignment. Facing the defending world champion Brooklyn Dodgers at Wrigley Field, he allowed only two hits, four bases on balls and one run in a complete game, 8–1 triumph. Almost exactly a month later, on July 1, he shut out the Milwaukee Braves on six hits and only one walk, with five strikeouts. Kaiser made 22 starts for the 1956 Cubs and his career-best 3.59 earned run average was third-best on the team, but his won–lost record was only 4–9, and the Cubs finished eighth and last in the National League at 60–94. He began 1957 in the rotation and in his third start, on May 6, he defeated the New York Giants on six hits, 6–2, at the Polo Grounds, for the sixth and last complete game of his career.

Return to Don Kaiser Autograph Profile