" All hail Sky King !!"
Here we are, a new week and a new slate of players to feature in this – the top 50 Mets of all time countdown.
Today’s former Met was at one time quite possibly the most feared Mets power bat from the mid ’70′s. That’s right we are talking about Kingman25′s favorite Met of all Time, David Arthur Kingman – or as us Mets fans affectionately call him – ” Kong “.
The Mets purchased Kingman from the San Francisco Giants in February of 1975, and he would make his debut as a third baseman on April 8th of that season. Kingman would only appear in twelve games at third with the Mets that season, because of his shaky defense. They used him mainly as both a first baseman and a left fielder.
Kingman – known for his power, would hit a club record with 36 home runs in his first season with the Mets. In 1977, Kong broke his own record with 37 homers, which earned him the nod to start in right field for the 1976 National League All-Star team.
In the 1977 season, Kingman struggled at the plate hitting a paltry batting only .209 with nine home runs . That June 15th he was traded to the San Diego Padres for then utility infielder ( and future Mets manager) , Bobby Valentine and minor league pitcher Paul Siebert in what was christened the infamous “Midnight Massacre”That day also saw then Mets President – M . Donald Grant trade Tom Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds for a handful of rookies and minor league prospects.
In 1981 Kingman would make his return to the Mets when the Mets would reacquire him from the Chicago Cubs for then everyday outfielder, Steve Henderson and cash. Kingman would mostly play first base upon his return to the Mets in 1981,playing a little outfield when necessary. He played first base exclusively during the ’82 season.
In his first two seasons back with the Mets , he would lead the league in strike outs both of his first two seasons in New York (105 in 1981 & 156 in 1982). Kingman would remain with the team for the ’83 season in, and was released at the seasons end.
That off season “ Sky King” , as he affectionately called himself ( he hated the name “Kong” ) signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics.
In his six years with the Mets, Kingman would have a combined bating average of .219 with 154 home runs , 389 RBIs and 672 strike outs. He surprised the Mets fan base when he appeared at the ” Shea Goodbye” ceremonies on the last day of the ’08 season.
Tomorrow we will feature at number 43 one of the most popular Mets of the ’70′s.
And with that said…. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!
Mets alumni celebrating birthdays today include :
Mets closer from ’79-’83, Neil Allen is 53 today (1958) . Thank goodness for Neil Allen, yes he was mediocre for the Mets , but he did net us Keith Hernandez in that lopsided trade with the Cardinals !!!
Reserve first baseman ( and brother of Mets pitcher /nemesis Tom) Mike Glavine is 38 today (1973) .
The Texas Rangers signed reserve outfielder, Shawn Hare of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 24, 1995.
New York Mets signed free agent middle reliever, Graeme Lloyd on January 24, 2003. The Australian native would pitch rather well on a bad ’03 Mets team , going 1-2 with a ERA of 3.31 in 36 games. The New York Mets signed free agent starting pitcher, Geremi Gonzalez of the Boston Red Sox on January 24, 2006. Gonzalez pitched briefly for the Mets that season going 0-0 with a ERA OF 7.71. He would tragically die in ’08 after being hit by lightening on a beach in his home country of Venezuela.
The Baltimore Orioles signed middle reliever, of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 24, 2006.
The Chicacgo Cubs signed outfielder, Cliff Floyd of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 24, 2007. It was sad to see Cliff go, but it was evident that he would never play a full season healthy ever again.
And while you try to get over the disappointment of last nights Jets game, just remember that there are just 67 more days until the Mets open the 2011 season against the Florida Marlins in Miami and only 74 days until the Mets 2011 home opener against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field.
Mo Vaughn has the worst case of the runs after eating a whole cornucopia of fatty foods last night !!!
54 comments
rustyjr
1/24/2011-5:45am at 5:45 am (UTC -4)
Sorry guys I forgot to write Tyler Yates A’s the reliever who signed with the Orioles – on my I phone – & have a tough time editing
metsfan4decades
1/24/2011-8:10am at 8:10 am (UTC -4)
I originally didn’t include him but in the end, decided to add him. He really was a one dimensional type player but at least his at bats gave you something to watch during some really bad Met years.
rustyjr
1/24/2011-8:17am at 8:17 am (UTC -4)
So true
saltygary
1/24/2011-9:25am at 9:25 am (UTC -4)
This is why in the end I didn’t send in a list. I am so ignorant to anything pre ’84. Good read Ruster.
stickguy
1/24/2011-9:45am at 9:45 am (UTC -4)
I thought he hit more HRs than that for the Mets, but hey, it was a long time ago and the old brain ain’t what it used to be.
I do remember being at a game where he hit a ball comepletely out of Shea. Carried right over the BP and the picnic area, and one hopped off the sidewalk out into the LF parking lot. The man did not get cheated.
Too bad he had his MVP caliber years with the cubs. That, and it sucked the year he flopped in LF and screwed up his thumb. Missed about 6 weeks at least, and still came back to tie Schmidt for the HR lead on the season. He was potentially making a run at Maris (a real long shot) but easily could have been in the 50s, back when that really meant something!
kingman 26
1/24/2011-9:49am at 9:49 am (UTC -4)
Ah, nice choice! Should have been a bit higher, but….
And I must say that he is probably my third favorite Met—number one will always be Keith, and number two has to be Seaver.
But Kingman gave me so much enjoyment as a kid in the 1970s, and he seemed to always hit a HR (or two) in games I went to. And I have the 30+ year old scorecards to prove it!
Thanks Rusty, and thanks for using a picture of him smiling!
saltygary
1/24/2011-10:11am at 10:11 am (UTC -4)
Wow the team needs to step up and give you a newer face for your top 3. I imagine like many of us, the players who have a greater lasting impression are the ones we liked in our youth.
Seeing that I started obsessively following the team in ’85 my top 3 are probably: Alfonzo, Carter, Floyd.
njstuckintx
1/24/2011-10:17am at 10:17 am (UTC -4)
Not that it carries any weight, but mine would be Keith, Wright & Doc
kingman 26
1/24/2011-10:52am at 10:52 am (UTC -4)
Pretty good choices.
All would be in my all-time top ten for sure.
kingman 26
1/24/2011-10:46am at 10:46 am (UTC -4)
Yeah, for me, it was Seaver because he was the greatest Met ever, and in the mid-70s the ONLY great Met.
Kingman for reasons cited; I know he was one-dimensional and could be a complete ass, but when I was 10, his home runs were really impressive, as was the threat of him homering literally every at bat.
Keith will always be number one; after the 1973 WS, I waited more than 10 years for the team to finally be good again. I vividly remember June 15, 1983 (the old trade deadline) when we stole Keith from the Cards. I remember how cool it was to have an MVP, and how he totally molded the team with his HEART and GRIT and CLUTCH PLAY (yes, they DID exist in prehistoric Met history). He will probably always be my favorite Met.
Today’s Mets? I would say David Wright is about the only worthy one; Dickey has potential if he keeps it up for a few years.
But from the past, my top ten would also include Mookie, Doc, Darryl, and John Milner for sure.
gategem
1/24/2011-10:04pm at 10:04 pm (UTC -4)
Is there a photo of Kong posing with a rat?
I also remember this:
“Facing the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 14, 1976, Kingman hit what is likely the longest home run of his career, and believed to be the longest in the history of the Cubs ballpark. There is a street called Kenmore Avenue that T’s into Waveland Avenue behind left-center field. Kenmore is lined with houses, and the ball Kingman launched landed on the third porch roof on the east side of Kenmore, a shot estimated at 550 feet.[5] Despite this monster shot, the Cubs beat the Mets 6-5.”
I recall the camera catching an old lady walking out of her house onto the porch to see what in the world hit her home.
kingman 26
1/25/2011-8:45am at 8:45 am (UTC -4)
I remember the rat incident!
Yeah, I know, Kingman could be a serious jackass, and was most definitely not media friendly.
But I was just a kid; that’s my excuse.
SNY has their great Met Yearbook shows, and on one from about 75 or 76, there was a huge segment with Kingman doing a clinic for kids, and he was surprisingly friendly and engaged.
So, while the rat incident was perhaps less than chivalrous, the media are pretty much rats.
stickguy
1/24/2011-10:22am at 10:22 am (UTC -4)
you see pictures of guys from back in that day (and older, like Willie Mays and Hank Aaron) and you realize how much haas changed between the training (and juicing) of the last couple decades.
even slap hitting middle infielders make these guys look like skinny little girlie men now.
of course, they probably got hurt less back then since IMO BB was designed to be played by thinner guys with lean muscle and lots of flexibility. Not beefed up muscle bound dudes lthat look like linebackers.
kingman 26
1/24/2011-10:39am at 10:39 am (UTC -4)
And back then, weight training was specifically frowned upon in baseball!
njstuckintx
1/24/2011-10:40am at 10:40 am (UTC -4)
12, 16 and 24 oz. curls, though, were encouraged!
kingman 26
1/24/2011-10:46am at 10:46 am (UTC -4)
Haha, you are right on the money with that one!
Prismo
1/24/2011-11:50pm at 11:50 pm (UTC -4)
Mo Vaughn did 40′s.
stickguy
1/24/2011-12:13pm at 12:13 pm (UTC -4)
this place is dead today (seesm most other sites are too). Must be everyone still in mourning for the Jets!
given how frigid it was this AM walking the dog, I really need some warmth and a BB game. Bad.
maybe I should go out for milk in a few weeks, and drive to ST instead? Should only take about 20 hours to get there.
kingman 26
1/24/2011-12:15pm at 12:15 pm (UTC -4)
When I got in my car this morning, it was 17 below zero—with NO wind!!
Bet you cannot top that!
stickguy
1/24/2011-12:41pm at 12:41 pm (UTC -4)
my son started school again today (in Ithaca, so similar temps) and was none too happy about having to walk a good 15-20 minutes to class (probably about a mile).
wimpy kids these days.
njstuckintx
1/24/2011-1:08pm at 1:08 pm (UTC -4)
It’s was rainy and a chilly 54 today. Couldn’t resist. I know it’ll come back to me when it’s 110 and 98% humidity for about 4 months straight.
Viva la Central Air!
kistics
1/24/2011-2:02pm at 2:02 pm (UTC -4)
dunno what’s worse… 110 with 98% humidity or 7F with win chill of -10.
stickguy
1/24/2011-2:04pm at 2:04 pm (UTC -4)
the cold is worse, by far, no debate.
I could live year round in houston but not Alaska. Just don’t like being cold.
kingman 26
1/24/2011-2:06pm at 2:06 pm (UTC -4)
“the cold is worse, by far, no debate.”
+ 100,000
I go to Vegas and South Carolina in the summer; I HATEHATEHATE the cold.
kistics
1/24/2011-2:15pm at 2:15 pm (UTC -4)
for me, i can’t stand humidity….
but i guess when you get older, it’s you’d rather be hot than cold…
just messing with you…
metsfan4decades
1/24/2011-2:31pm at 2:31 pm (UTC -4)
I’m with you kistics…but I guess I’m the odd man out of the ‘older’ set. I may be older but I’ll take the cold over the hot humidity any day.
darknova306
1/24/2011-3:41pm at 3:41 pm (UTC -4)
I feel completely miserable in hot and humid weather. If I’m sweating balls while sitting on my couch not moving, then it’s way too damn hot. I love dry, cold air, clouds, and as much snow as possible. That’s why I was happy to move the NY’s Snow Belt.
njstuckintx
1/24/2011-2:26pm at 2:26 pm (UTC -4)
No way. You can put coats on. You can’t take skin off.
gategem
1/25/2011-12:31am at 12:31 am (UTC -4)
I totally agree.
gategem
1/25/2011-12:14am at 12:14 am (UTC -4)
My uncle, after visiting his son, during the summertime, in Houston complained that whether you opened the hot or cold water tap the water flowing out of the faucet was the same temperature.
You can wear heavy garments to protect yourself from the cold but you can’t shed enough garments to feel comfortable when the temperature and humidity are 110 degrees and 98% respectively.
darknova306
1/24/2011-1:11pm at 1:11 pm (UTC -4)
We only got down to about -10 here in Rochester this morning, but the wind chill dropped it to around -25. I’d bet that Buffalo beat all of us with wind chills.
kistics
1/24/2011-1:58pm at 1:58 pm (UTC -4)
where are you kingman?
stickguy
1/24/2011-2:02pm at 2:02 pm (UTC -4)
he is hiding in Saratoga with the parade float, unless he took that and sold it for scrap already.
heard on the weather channel that Saranac lake was some crazy thing like -40 overnight. I don’t care where you are, that is damned cold.
kingman 26
1/24/2011-2:05pm at 2:05 pm (UTC -4)
Saratoga; the parade float has been equipped with orange and royal blue skis…..
kingman 26
1/24/2011-2:09pm at 2:09 pm (UTC -4)
Where are you Kistics? Somewhere around here?
kistics
1/24/2011-2:12pm at 2:12 pm (UTC -4)
no i’m in north jersey.. about 3 hours south of you.
kingman 26
1/24/2011-2:23pm at 2:23 pm (UTC -4)
Funny; I was born in East Orange and grew up in Livingston.
kistics
1/24/2011-2:37pm at 2:37 pm (UTC -4)
you were born in rough neighborhood…
stickguy
1/24/2011-2:50pm at 2:50 pm (UTC -4)
It wasn’t so bad back then. Mostly indians, and a few settlers.
I always wondered actually what the oranges were like before they sliced the parkway through the middle?
going completely off tangent, I am not far from Camden (miles wise, very far conceptually!), and that is a rat hole that makes east orange look like Dix Hills. Yet, I see articles on occasion about how nice and prosperous it was until probably the late 50s.
kingman 26
1/24/2011-3:26pm at 3:26 pm (UTC -4)
“Mostly Indians, and a few settlers.”
HAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That was good.
My Mom is from Irvington, NJ, which was once a nice middle class place, and now makes Camden look like Beverly Hills.
kistics
1/24/2011-3:29pm at 3:29 pm (UTC -4)
Heard that Camden was like in top 3 of most dangerous neighborhoods in the country.
Saratoga…. not so much
kingman 26
1/24/2011-3:46pm at 3:46 pm (UTC -4)
No, Saratoga is really a great place to raise a family.
However, Albany has some VERY scary areas.
I miss Seattle though; lived there from 1989–2001; GREAT place to live. No snow (but loads of rain and clouds from Nov-March) and the summers are unreal—no humidity and 75–80 degree days; the most beautiful place.
njstuckintx
1/24/2011-3:49pm at 3:49 pm (UTC -4)
I had to go to Camden several times for work. It was literally turning off the main highway into an area that even the churches had bars on the windows.
Prismo
1/24/2011-4:54pm at 4:54 pm (UTC -4)
Hey now, no dissin’ Albany!
Well okay, I might not want to raise a family in the city…but some of the suburbs are very nice with some of the best grade schools in the state.
kingman 26
1/24/2011-5:33pm at 5:33 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah, you are right about Albany. It has its scary areas, but it also has a lot of positives….definitely.
hazmet
1/24/2011-6:14pm at 6:14 pm (UTC -4)
Hey Dix Hills was my home town
Or as my ex NYC Homicide Detective English / Drivers Ed Teacher called it “The Hills of Dix”…
And now it’s full of Indians, most of them vying for Intel, Siemens, or Westinghouse Scholarships. And if not Indians we got fiddy cents burning down his baby mama’s house. Which was 2 houses down from one of my brother’s best friends parents back in 1960something….
stickguy
1/24/2011-7:17pm at 7:17 pm (UTC -4)
half the kids in my college back in the old days came from there. Never figured out how so many wealthy jewish kids from the north shore ended up in Schenectady, but they did.
hazmet
1/24/2011-8:22pm at 8:22 pm (UTC -4)
lol stick! Yeah I was the token goyum. I don’t think I had a non hebrew friend until I was in like 11th grade. My family moved in there when it was all dirt roads before it got it’s rep so I alway’s found the whole money & DH thing strange since it was straight up middle class when we moved there. And you’re right like most of my friends went to Rochester or Syracuse….lol
gategem
1/25/2011-12:37am at 12:37 am (UTC -4)
I recall driving through Camden during the mid 1970’s and noting that it looked like Germany after the Allied Bombers leveled some of their Cities. Even the Police were afraid to get out of their Police Cars.
What I found interesting at that time was that RCA was still using the building where Caruso recorded back in the early 1900’s.
gategem
1/25/2011-12:24am at 12:24 am (UTC -4)
I was born and raised in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn so perhaps that was the toughest neighborhood of the group.
The problem with upstate New York is that you’re still in New York.
gategem
1/25/2011-12:04am at 12:04 am (UTC -4)
“When I got in my car this morning, it was 17 below zero—with NO wind!!
Bet you cannot top that!”
I wouldn’t want to top that. I’ve no intention of living in an Eskimo Village.
metsfan4decades
1/24/2011-12:17pm at 12:17 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah, just a tad bit chilly here in the NE today….
I think I could buy a first class round trip ticket and 5 * accommodations to PSL with what my gas bill is this month and likely next…
Is it baseball season yet????
(P.S. – sorry to all you Jet fans out there. I don’t follow football but I was rooting for them.)
gategem
1/25/2011-12:28am at 12:28 am (UTC -4)
I read this about Kong:
“Kingman was drafted by the California Angels out of high school in the second round of the 1967 Major League Baseball Draft, and by the Baltimore Orioles in the first round of the 1968 draft, but chose, instead, to play baseball at the University of Southern California under legendary coach Rod Dedeaux. 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.”
I recall watching a Mets telecast where it was said the Rod Dedeaux said that Kong was the most physically gifted player he ever coached. He was a 5 tool player that never developed and never refined his natural abilities.
kingman 26
1/25/2011-8:47am at 8:47 am (UTC -4)
Yes sir; and if I am not mistaken he pitched a few innings for the Giants before we traded for him.