Kuroda and Buhl: Kings of Swing

It's hard to double your batting average this late in the season but Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda did so last night against the Rockies.
Kuroda, an imposing righthanded hitter, went 1-2 at the dish and bumped his batting average up from .018 to .036. Yes, you read that correctly. Kuroda is now hitting an impressive .036. Impressively bad that is.
He entered the game mired in a 1-53 season-long slump. He apparently broke out of that slump last night with his leadoff single to right in the 3rd inning off Jeff Francis, who should have retired from the game on the spot. Kuroda even scored on a triple by Rafael Furcal. Is there anything that Kuroda can't do on a ballfield? Pitching, hitting, running like a gazelle, the guy can do it all!
It's no wonder that Kuroda's favorite pitcher of all-time is Bob Buhl who went 0-70 in 1962 with the Milwaukee Braves (1 AB) and the Chicago Cubs (69 AB's). It should be noted that Buhl, although a horrible hitter with a lifetime .089 average (76-857, just 2 extra base hits, both doubles) was a fine pitcher over 15-seasons with 166 wins and a 3.55 ERA. It should also be added to the record, that while I was in college, and playing the 1956 version of the Strat-O-Matic baseball game, Bob Buhl pitched a no-hitter for the Braves against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
So to Hiroki Kuroda, I tip my cap to you. And to Bob Buhl, who passed away in 2001, I salute you as well. The Kings of Swing!