Meet Dave Kingman

February 03, 2022

DAVE KINGMAN
"King Kong"

Positions: Leftfielder, First Baseman and Third Baseman

Full Name: David Arthur Kingman

Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Born: December 21, 1948 in Pendleton, Oregon, USA

Organizations: New York Mets (6), San Francisco Giants (4), Chicago Cubs (3), Oakland Athletics (3), San Diego Padres (1), California Angels (1), New York Yankees (1)

DAVE KINGMAN'S WALL OF GLORY

HONORS AND AWARDS

All Star: 3 (1976, 1979, 1980)
Comeback of the Year: 1 (1984)
DH of the Year: 1 (1984)

BATTING

HR Leader: 2 (1979, 1982)
SLG Leader: 1 (1979)
OPS Leader: 1 (1979)

FACTS:

Dave Kingman (6'6'') was a power hitter, known for his long home runs (he hit one measured at over 550 feet in 1979).
At the moment of his retirement he ranked 16th in career HR (442)
He stroke out frequently (3-time NL leader, and his 1816 career SO were the 4th-highest in MLB history at the time of his retirement), resulting in low AVG and OBP.
He started his career as OF and 1B with the San Francisco Giants (1971). The Giant and later the Mets tried to use him at third base, but he was not very gifted with the glove, so he played most of his career as OF, 1B and he was the Athletics DH his last 3 seasons.
While playing with the NY Mets, Kingman set the team's HR record in 36 (1975) and then broke it with 37 (1976). He later tied it in 1982.
in 1977 "King Kong" became one of the very few player appearing in at least 1 game for 4 different teams (and the only one to play in each division): He started the season with the Mets (58 games), that traded him to San Diego (56), then he was waived and claimed by the Angels (10), which trade him to the Yankees (8). That season Kingman batted .221, 26 HR and 78 RBI.
His best season was in 1979, playing with the Cubs, batting .288, 48 HR (NL leader) and 115 RBI (NL 2nd).
in 1982 Kingman became the first Mets player to lead the league in HR.
In 1984, playing as Oakland's DH he hit .268, 35 HR and 118 RBI, earning the AL Comeback of the Year Award and the AL DH of the Year Award. in 1986 he hit 35 HR again, setting the record for a player in his final season (broken by David Ortiz in 2016 with 38).

STATS:

7x +30 HR (Career Hight: 48 in 1979)
8x +80 RBI (Career Hight: 118 in 1984)
Kingman finished his career with .236 AVG, 1575 Hits, 442 HR, 1210 RBI and 85 SB.

GALLERY: