DAVE KINGMAN

{{Mlbretired
|bgcolor1=#ff5731
|bgcolor2=#003581
|textcolor1=white
|textcolor2=white
|name=Dave Kingman
|image=Iekingman.jpg
|position=Outfield/First base
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birthdate=
|debutdate=July 30
|debutyear=1971
|debutteam=San Francisco Giants
|finaldate=October 5
|finalyear=1986
|finalteam=Oakland Athletics
|stat1label=Slugging average
|stat1value=.478
|stat2label=Home runs
|stat2value=442
|stat3label=RBI
|stat3value=1210
|teams=

★ San Francisco Giants (1971-1974)

★ New York Mets (1975-1977), (1981-1983)

★ San Diego Padres (1977)

★ California Angels (1977)

★ New York Yankees (1977)

★ Chicago Cubs (1978-1980)

★ Oakland Athletics (1984-1986)
|highlights=

★ 3-time All-Star (1976, 1979, 1980)

★ 2-time NL leader in home runs (48, 1979; 37, 1982)

★ Led AL in slugging and OPS (.613 and .956, 1979)

★ Holds MLB record for most home runs in his last year (35)

★ Tied a MLB record with most times hitting three or more home runs in a game in one season (two)

★ Tied a MLB record for home runs in two consecutive games (five)

★ Hit three home runs in a game five times, one shy of the MLB record held by Johnny Mize

★ Hit 14 grand slams

★ One of eight batters with a 3-home run game in both leagues

★ Twice hit three home runs and drove in eight runs in a game (at Dodger Stadium, on June 4, 1976 {see quote below} and May 14, 1978)

★ Hit for the cycle (April 16, 1972)

★ Won AL Comeback Player of the Year Award (1984: .268, 35 HR, 118 RBI)

★ His 442 career homers place him 31st in major league history

★ He joins Ruppert Jones, Ricky Lee Nelson, José Canseco, Álvaro Espinoza and Kevin Millar as the only players in MLB history to hit a fair ball that got stuck in a stadium obstruction. Resource: ''Baseball Library''
}}
'David Arthur Kingman' (born December 21, 1948 in Pendleton, Oregon), nicknamed "Kong" and "Sky King", is a former Major League Baseball slugger who played for the San Francisco Giants (1971-1974), New York Mets (1975-1977, 1981-1983), San Diego Padres (1977), California Angels (1977), New York Yankees (1977), Chicago Cubs (1978-1980) and Oakland Athletics (1984-1986).

Contents

College career

Professional career

Quotes

Lowlights

See also

External links

College career

A standout player at the University of Southern California, Kingman began as a pitcher before being converted to an outfielder. In 1970, he was named an All-American and led the Trojans to the College World Series championship. He was selected by the San Francisco Giants with the first pick of the 1970 secondary phase draft.

Professional career

The towering 6'6" Kingman became one of the most feared sluggers of the 1970s and 1980s. His height and long-armed, sweeping swing were sufficient to propel a baseball a very long distance when he connected solidly. It was said of him that he was one of those players that when he came to bat, everyone in the park stopped whatever they were doing to watch him. He hit plenty of home runs, and he could hit them farther than many had ever seen, once over 530 feet; on five separate occasions he hit three home runs in a game. He made his mark as a slugger early on. His major league debut was on July 30, 1971,[1] pinch running for Willie McCovey and then finishing the game at first base. In just his second major league game, the next day, he hit a home run[2], and he slugged two more a day later[3]. Early the next year, he hit for the cycle, on April 16, 1972.
His free-swinging, however, cut both ways, as he was also apt to strike out regularly, and usually posted a low batting average. While impressively belting out more than 400 home runs in his career, he was never a serious candidate for the Baseball Hall of Fame. In his first year of eligibility, 1992, he appeared on just 3 ballots [4], disqualifying him from future BBWAA voting.
Kingman came up with the San Francisco Giants and played in outfield, at first base, third base, and sometimes as a pitcher. After a difficult season in 1974 when he had 12 errors in 59 chances, the Giants not only stopped playing him at third base, they sold him to the New York Mets. Thereafter, he played only 14 games at third, and never pitched again.

He spent his career with seven teams in both leagues, and was known as a difficult teammate wherever he played. One Mets teammate stated publicly that Kingman had "the personality of a tree stump"; Chicago columnist Mike Royko referred to him as "Dave Ding-Dong".[5] But Kingman never liked the spotlight, and just wanted to play the game and be left alone off the field. His unpredictable and often antisocial behavior (he once sent a dead rat to a reporter), and largely one-dimensional game, led to his being regularly traded. In one three-month stretch in 1977, he was traded, waived, and had his contract sold, becoming the first player to play in four divisions in one year; he was also released after the season.
Kingman had his best year in 1979, when he played his first full season for the Cubs, hitting a respectable .288 with a National League-leading 48 homers, as well as 115 runs batted in and 97 runs scored. His .613 slugging percentage was almost 50 points higher than that of the closest National League player, Mike Schmidt. That was the year he showed the most self-discipline at the plate, and it paid off. But it did not last, and his popularity with Cubs fans soon faded. Traded to the Mets before the 1981 season, he again led the NL in home runs in 1982.
Always an awkward defensive player while primarily playing the outfield and first base, he played his last three seasons as a designated hitter in Oakland, collecting at least 30 home runs and 90 RBIs in each of those years. He also had two remarkable at-bats in this period which ''didn't'' result in home runs, but nonetheless added to his legend: in a 1984 game in Minnesota, he hit a pop-up which went all the way to the roof of the Metrodome, but stuck there (for a ground rule double). In a 1985 game in Seattle, he hit a tremendous drive to left field which struck a speaker hanging from the roof of the Kingdome, bounced back and was caught.
In his 16-season career, Dave Kingman batted .236, with 442 home runs, 1210 runs batted in, 901 runs scored, 1575 hits, 240 doubles, 25 triples and 85 stolen bases in 1941 games played. He also struck out 1,816 times, then the 4th-highest total in history. He was named to the National League All-Star team three times (1976-1979-1980).

Quotes

★ "Everybody's always talking about my strikeouts. If I played everyday, I could strike out maybe 400 times. I have no idea how many home runs I could hit if I played every day. I've never played every day." - Dave Kingman, 1975.

★ "A sullen, abrasive personality, his defensive shortcomings and his high strikeout ratio are reasons "Kong" has played for seven major-league teams... Nobody hits 'em farther - or higher." - Zander Hollander, ''The Complete Handbook of Baseball'', 1985.

★ "What I saw of him at third, I didn't like. But he gives us a pretty good guy on the bench and he's insurance in the outfield if Cleon Jones can't do the job." - Yogi Berra, Mets manager, 1975.

★ "I told Yogi that if he plays Dave in 150 games, he'll hit 30 homers for them, maybe 40. And after he's playing regularly for a couple of years, he'll be the next man to hit 60 homers." - Bobby Bonds, 1975.

★ "That one's in Milwaukee!" - Chicago radio broadcaster Lou Boudreau, describing a very long Kingman home run at Wrigley Field. (From the VHS tape, ''Chicago and the Cubs: A Lifelong Love Affair'', narrated by Mike Royko, MLB Productions, 1987).

★ "What's my opinion of Kingman's performance!? What the fuck do you think is my opinion of it? I think it was fucking horseshit! Put that in, I don't fucking care. Opinion of his performance!? Jesus Christ, he beat us with three fucking home runs! What the fuck do you mean, 'What is my opinion of his performance?' How could you ask me a question like that, 'What is my opinion of his performance?' Jesus Christ, he hit three home runs! Jesus Christ! I'm fucking pissed off to lose the fucking game. And you ask me my opinion of his performance! Jesus Christ. That's a tough question to ask me, isn't it? 'What is my opinion of his performance?'" - Tommy Lasorda, in response to a question from reporter Paul Olden about Kingman's hitting three home runs during a May 14, 1978 10-7 victory by the Cubs over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The "censored" version of this diatribe, with the many "beeps" adding to its humorous effect, can be heard on one of the ''Baseball's Greatest Hits'' CD's.[6]

Lowlights

★ In 1977, he became the first player to play in four different divisions in the same year - New York Mets (National League East), San Diego Padres (National League West), California Angels (American League West) and New York Yankees (American League East)

★ Led the National League in strikeouts 3 times (131, [1979]; 105, [1981]; 156, [1982])

★ In 1982 he hit 37 home runs, a new Mets' single-season record, which stood until Darryl Strawberry hit 39 in 1987. But he also batted just .204[7], the lowest batting average ever recorded for a first baseman with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. Leading the league in home runs that year, it is also the lowest batting average for anyone during the season they led in home runs. Additionally, he accomplished the dubious feat of leading the league in home runs while having a lower batting average than the Cy Young Award winner, (Steve Carlton, .218).[8]

★ Lifetime walks-to-strikeout ratio: 0.258 (608-1816)

See also

★ MLB players who have hit 30 or more home runs before the All-Star break

★ MLB players with four different teams in the same season

★ Top 500 home run hitters of all time

★ Hitting for the cycle

★ List of Major League Baseball home run champions

★ Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game

External links

★