Dave Kingman
| Birthdate | 12/21/1948 |
| Death Date | |
| Debut Year | 1971 |
| Year of Induction | |
| Teams | Angels, Athletics, Cubs, Giants, Mets, Padres, Yankees |
| Positions | First Base, Left Field, Third Base |
When he retired, Dave Kingman ranked 16th all time with 442 homers and 4th on the grand slams list tied with Babe Ruth and Henry Aaron.
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After two years in the minors, Dave Kingman had a fine 16-year MLB career
After two years in the minors, Dave Kingman had a fine 16-year MLB career
Dave Kingman was a college All American for the national champion USC Trojans in 1970. At the season’s conclusion he was drafted first overall by the Giants in the secondary phase of the 1970 MLB June Draft.
He immediately joined Double-A Amarillo in the Texas League. The man nicknamed “Kong” for his prodigious power slugged 15 homers in just 60 games.
Kingman was promoted to Triple-A for his first full professional season in 1971. He slammed 29 homers in 105 games. That year he also reached the big leagues with the Giants. With the big club he hit .278 with a .557 slugging percentage.
As a full-time big leaguer in 1972, Kingman hit 29 homers, the first of his ten seasons with 25 or more round-trippers.
After four seasons with the Giants, Kingman began to move from team-to-team. During his 16-year career he played for 7 teams. In 1977 he played for teams in all four of baseball’s divisions – the Mets in the NL East, the Padres in the NL West, the Yankees in the AL East, and the Angels in the AL West.
His finest season came in 1979 for the Cubs. The 6’6″ Kingman hit a career-high and National League-best 48 homers. He also led the Senior Circuit in slugging percentage and OPS during the All Star campaign.
Over the course of his career, Kingman received MVP consideration in 5 seasons and made the All Star team three times.
Kingman’s power was something to behold. When he retired, his 442 homers ranked 16th on the all-time list. His 16 grand slams put him tied with Babe Ruth and Henry Aaron for fourth most in big league history.
Despite his ability to hit the ball out of any park, Kingman’s production did not match his power. He hit as high as .240 in only 5 of his 16 seasons. Two of those years were abbreviated – his 41-game season in his first year, and his 81-game season in 1980. Kingman’s lifetime average stands at .236.
The well-traveled home run hitter recorded more strikeouts than hits in 12 of his 16 big league seasons. At the conclusion of his career, Kingman’s 1,816 strikeouts were topped by only three men in MLB history. His career on-base percentage stands at .302.
When he first became eligible for the Hall of Fame Kingman was named on just three ballots. Because the total was well below the 5% threshold to stay on the ballot, it was his only year of Cooperstown consideration.
In the collection is this handwritten letter from Kingman’s first professional season. It is written on letterhead from the team hotel in Little Rock Arkansas where his Amarillo Giants faced the Arkansas Travelers. Such letters from this early in his career rarely surface.
Kingman's 3-HR performance elicited one of the greatest tirades in baseball history
Kingman's 3-HR performance elicited one of the greatest tirades in baseball history
On May 14th, 1978 Dave Kingman hit 3 home runs in an epic 15-inning battle against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a postgame interview reporter Paul Olden asked Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda a question.
“What’s your opinion of Kingman’s performance?”
The Dodger skipper erupted.
In one of baseball’s most notorious tirades, Lasorda used colorful language to answer Olden’s query. Click here for the uncensored audio.
Shown here is a letter from the Cooperstown pilot. Dated September 13, 1999, it is written on Dodger letterhead.
Lasorda writes, “Baseball and the Dodgers have been very good to me. In 1997 I became the 14th manager and the 15th Dodger to be elected to the Hall of Fame. It was one of the proudest days of my life!”
Lasorda pens his signature at the bottom of the page.
Dave Kingman could hit a ball as far as anyone who ever played!
He was a complete piece of crap who was destined to play on lousy teams his entire career.
He was a long ball hitter and hit Moon shots. Miss him playing and thanks for the Thunder in your Home Runs⚾️⚾️⚾️⚾️
Saw him when he was with the Padres. Had no plate discipline whatever. Saw him hit a pitch 4 inches above the ground (like a golf swing) for a homer. No wonder they called him King Kong.
Struck out a ton too
One of the few players I’m aware of who could hit 40 homers and still hurt his team. No defense, lousy teammate, constantly disgruntled. A real POS.
WHEN HE PLAYED FOR A TERRABLE METS TEAM THE ONLY REASON I WATCHED A GAME WAS TO SEE HIM BURY A BASEBALL.
I’m an Oakland A’s fan who saw Kingman play a lot in his final three seasons. He hit the highest popups I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen fielders laughing in disbelief at the altitude and how long it took the ball to come down.
What if he played now , he would be a hall of fame plus making a ton of money
Kingman finished his career with the Phoenix Firebirds of the old PCL. I have the last home run ball he hit out of Portland’s Civic Stadium. It landed across the street in a Mercedes Benz auto lot. The ball traveled nearly 500 feet and the ball is “bruised” from the swat! It is also misshapen. He hit a 3-0 fastball and you can see where on the ball he made contact. Dave was a beast!
He either hit a homerun or he struck out, but he struck out about 5 times for every homerun.
I saw him play in Chicago, and he hit more balls out on Waveland Avenue than anybody I’d ever seen. A powerhouse, like no other.Sure, he struck out a lot, but it was worth it to see those towering home runs.
He loves ice cream
I grew up in queens in the 70s Kingman and Seaver were the main attractions at Shea. I remember him hitting a home run into the parking lot!
In today’s game he would be considered a contact hitter
What happened to Dave? Why he wasn’t at the Old Timers Game? Did he passed away? He was a strong Home Run King!!!
Kingman was a one dimensional player a HR or strikeout and had a really shitty attitude!
If he hadn’t been blackballed he would have hit 500.
He hit 35 HR his last year
His strikeouts were way too high when he played, but if he played now it’d be fine because so many players strike out a lot more than Dave. I worked at Shea as a souvenir vendor and our office was down the left field line and he hit the highest and longest shots I’ve ever seen – the only ones who came close during my years at Shea was Willie Stargell and Willie McCovey, but their shots I remember most from them were the straightaway centerfield. Kingman pulled just about every homer.
Great Homerun Hitter in 1976 had 32 homeruns by July.A shoulder injury sidelined him 6 weeks and hit 5 more mid September 1976 last good month Mets had in 70s
He was super fun to watch ! Towering Home runs or a majestic strikeout. Think of him as a Reggie Jackson light on really bad – Bad News Bears teams of the 70s & 80s.
His final 3 seasons were amazing in Oakland – How many major leaguers can boast three 30+ Home runs their final 3 seasons?
No, not just Hank Aaron folks.
I think if he stuck around for 500 Homeruns, and did not retire early, he would get some serious HOF consideration.
When he retired , he was the only member of the 400 HR club not in the HOF.
Fan favorite in NY with the Mets, Oakland with the A’s and of course that incredible season with the Cubs where he batted 288 and slugged 48 HRs,
could have hit 65 if he had protection in the lineup as opposing teams simply pitched around him. Even hit 4 HRs for an 8 game stint with the Yankees to haunt the Red Sox in a series at Fenway. Ah, the memories !
Kong was amazing