Athletes - Dave Kingman

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	Athletes - Dave Kingman

{{Mlbretired |bgcolor1=darkblue |bgcolor2=maroon |textcolor1=white |textcolor2=white |name=Dave Kingman |image=Dave Kong Kingman.JPG |position=Outfield, First base |bats=Right |throws=Right |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)
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 hits three home runs and drives 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 27th in major league history
He joins Ruppert Jones
, Ricky Lee Nelson, Jose Canseco, Alvaro Espinoza
and Kevin Millar
as the only players in MLB history to hit a fair ball that got stuck in a stadium obstruction. Resource:

}} 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 (1971-74), New York Mets (1975-77, 1981-83), San Diego Padres (1977), California Angels (1977), New York Yankees (1977), Chicago Cubs (1978-80) and Oakland Athletics (1984-86).

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 Giants with the first pick of the 1970 secondary phase draft.

The towering 6'6" Kingman became one of the most feared sluggers of the 1970s and 1980s. In those pre-steroids days, 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, sometimes over 550 feet; on five separate occasions he hit three home runs in a game. In his first major league game, he hit a home run, and he slugged two more a day later; early the next year, he hit for the cycle. But his free-swinging cut both ways, as he was also apt to strike out regularly, and usually posted a low batting average.

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"). 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, 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 next closest NL player (Mike Schmidt). That was the year he showed the most discipline at the plate, and it paid off, but it did not last, and his popularity with the Cubs soon faded. Traded to the Mets before the 1981 season, he again led the NL in home runs in 1982.

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Athletes - Dave Kingman

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