Dave Kingman (Part Two) The Second Time in New York (1981 - 1983)

David Arthur Kingman returned to the New York Mets in 1981. He promised to be more of a team player & talk to the New York media. The Mets were still a last place team but had a new ownership who were slowly turning things around. That season the club also brought back veteran favorite, Rusty Staub.

On Opening Day, he was 0-3 with a walk, in a 2-0 Mets win in Chicago. On April 19th he hit his first HR of the year, a three-run shot off the Expos Charlie Lea in a 7-2 Mets loss.

Multi HR Game: In a April 26th double header loss at Montreal, Kingman hit three HRs. After hitting one in the first game, he hit two in the night cap. He hit a solo shot off Scott Sanderson & then a two-run shot in the 9th inning off Stan Bahnsen. The Mets put up four runs in the 9th inning but fell a run short in the 7-6 loss.

 Player of the Week Award: At the end of May he won the May 31st NL Player of the Week Award. Starting on May 25th Kingman homered in four straight games with nine RBIs. In a tremendous seven game stretch Kingman hit six HRs with 13 RBIs & nine runs scored in that stretch. 

Grand Slam: On May 25th, Kingman hit his eighth career grand slam HR. It came at Shea
Stadium in a 13-3 win over the Phillies off pitcher Dick Ruthven. Kingman homered in each game of the three-game set with the Phillies, then in hit two more HRs in two of the three games with the Chicago Cubs.  

In June, Kingman hit three HRs leading up to the MLB players strike that lasted two months.

On August 11th, play resumed & in his first game back Kong hit a three run HR leading New York past the Cubs at Wrigley Field 7-5. On August 18th he hit a pair of HRs at Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium helping Ed Lynch to a 4-0 shutout over the Braves. 

Grand Slam: On August 22nd, Kingman hit another grand slam, his second of the year & ninth of his career. It came off the Reds Frank Pastore in a 7-4 Mets win.

From that point on, in the last forty game of the season he would hit just three more HRs.

Kingman played in 100 games in the strike shortened 1981 season, hitting 22 HRs (3rd most in the league) with 11 doubles 59 RBIs with a .782 OPS & a poor .221 batting average.

K's: For the second straight season he led the league in strike outs with 105. It was the third time in four years he led the league in that category. In those four years he struck out 436 times.

On the field he was awful with the glove, leading the league in errors as a left fielder (7). In 49 games he posted a .927 fielding %. At first base he made 13 errors (second in the NL) in 56 games (.974 fielding %).

1982 HR Leader: In 1982 Dave Kingman became the first New York Met to lead the league in

HRs with his 37. He matched the Mets single season record which he held. The record stood until Darryl Strawberry hit 39 five years later in 1987.

Five RBI Game: On April 10th, in the third game of the season Kingman hit his first HR of the season. It came at Wrigley Field in a 9-5 win. In the 4th inning, he hit a three-run shot off the Cubs Doug Bird. In the 7th his two-run single off Dick Tidrow gave him a five RBI game.

On April 13th he hit a three run in Philadelphia off Steve Carlton leading to a 5-3 Mets win. 

Trivia: In his career, Kingman hit eight HRs off the Hall of Famer Carlton, the most he hit off of any pitcher.

Multi HR Game: On April 18th, in the first of just two multi-HR games on the season, Kingman hit HRs off the Expos Charlie Lea & Bill Lee in a 7-6 losing effort in Montreal. 

Kingman would hit HR in six of the next eight games, while driving in runs in five straight games. In the first month of the season, Kingman hit 8 HRs & drove in 19 runs batting .279 with a 1.009 OPS.

In May he hit six HRs while driving in another 19 runs, but he only hit .218. Starting on May 6th Kingman hit HRs in three games of a four-game series at Shea with the Giants.

On May 11th Kingman hit his 12th HR of the season, along with a two run double he drove in four runs in Charlie Puleo's four hit shutout over the Padres at Shea Stadium. 

On May 19th, in the first game of a double header, Kingman hit a 1st inning, three run HR off the Reds Tom Seaver, leading the Mets to a 4-2 win at Shea Stadium.

Four RBI Game: On June 19th, Dave hit a three run HR off the Cardinals Jeff Keener & drove in four runs in an 8-5 win in St. Louis.

On July 9th at Shea, he reached the 20 HR mark with a 7th inning shot off San Diego's Luis DeLeon in a 6-3 Mets win. He hit his 21st HR the next day in another Met win. He went into the All Star break with 21 HRs & 55 RBIs but batting just .214.

As the second half of the season began, the Mets went to Los Angeles where Kingman homered in three straight games driving in nine runs. On July 17th, in that third game, he had his second multi-HR game of the season, starting with a three-run shot off Dave Stewart & then a solo shot off Terry Forster. 

 

In August he would hit only five HRs, hitting long balls in back-to-back games twice. From September 4th to September 11th, he hit five HRs & drove in ten runs, even though he had ten hits he was still only batting .215.

On September 17th he hit his 37th HR of the season, which was his last HR he would hit that year.
There were still twenty games to go in the season, but Kingman was so far ahead he still won the NL HR title. Atlanta's Dale Murphy finished second with 36 & Mike Schmidt was third with 35.

Kingman drove in 99 runs as well. But he batted just .204 with only nine doubles & 109 hits in 149 games (535 at bats). Kong also led the NL in strikeouts (156) for the second straight season. His on base % was just .285 as well.

Kingman & Foster: That year the Mets had the slugging bats of both Kingman & George Foster but finished last with a 65-97 record. Kingman & Foster combined for 50 HRs but had 279 strike outs & a .225 average. 

At first base, Kingman was once again one of the worst gloveman in the league, he made 18 errors second most in the NL.

1983: This would be Kingman’s last as a Met. In the month of April, he hit four HRs playing in 17 games, batting just .197. On April 29th, Kingman tied up the game with a 6th inning HR off the Braves Rick Camp, the Mets went on to a 6-5 win.

On May 11th he hit a two run HR off the Houston Astros Mike Scott, leading Tom Seaver, who was also now back with the Mets, to a 3-0 shutout in Houston. 

On May 24th Kingman hit a pair of HRs off the Giants Mike Krukow driving in both runs of a Mets 6-2 loss. The next day he hit another HR; a three-run shot in a 7-6 loss to San Francisco.

Walk Off HR: On June 10th the Mets played a 17-inning, four hours & forty-five-minute game with the Expos. In the bottom of the 8th inning, Kingman's sac fly put the Mets ahead of a 1-1 game. The Expos tied it up off a young Jesse Orosco in the 9th. But after a long day & plate appearances Kingman ended the game with a walk off HR off Bryn Smith to beat the Montreal Expos 2-1. 

On the June 15th trade deadline, The Mets acquired Keith Hernandez, six years to the date Kingman & Tom Seaver were traded on "the Midnight Massacre".

From that point on he only hit two more HRs, without hitting another after July 2nd. Kingman suffered injuries & saw little playing time throughout the year. 

He was no longer a full-time player with the Mets as the team was showing promise with younger players. The Mets became a contender the next year, with a team full of All Stars. 

In 1983 Kingman only hit a dismal .198 playing in 100 games (248 at bats) with 13 HRs 25 doubles & 29 RBIs while striking out 57 times. 

His career was winding down in New York & he once again was labeled as a troubled soul. Kingman's days with the Mets were over. In January of 1984 he was granted free agency & was signed by the Oakland Athletics.

Mets Career: In his Mets career Dave Kingman hit 154 HRs (6th most). He has 389 RBIs (17th on the Mets all-time list). He played in 664 games (35th all time). Kingman has 509 Mets hits with 70 doubles 6 triples & stole 29 bases. He walked 211 times & posted a .287 on base %.

In his Mets career Kong batted a dreadful .219 and struck out 672 times (10th on Mets all-time list). 

Post Mets Career: In 1984, the change of scenery did him wonders. Kingman won the Comeback Player of the Year Award with 35 HRs a career-high 118 RBIs batting .268 with 23 doubles & a .826 OPS. 

He drew 44 walks & struck out 119 times. He primarily was the team's designated hitter, a spot that was perfect for him, since he did not have to play the field with his poor defense. 

In 1985 he returned to hit 30 HRs with 91 RBIs, 16 doubles & a .726 OPS although his average dropped to a .238 with 114 strike outs. 

Trivia: That season in Seattle's Kingdome, he hit a sky king flyball that struck a speaker, came back to the field & was caught for an out. 

In 1986, he played under new manager Tony LaRussa as the A's fortunes were about to turn around. Kong hit thirty plus HRs for the third straight year, with 35-HRs. Kingman had 94 RBIs. He batted just .210 on the season & struck out 126 times, his 14th season with 100 or more strike outs. 

Record Set: He did not know it at the time, but he set a record for most HRs in a player's final season. David Ortiz would break that record in 2016.

Drama with Female Reporter: That same year he got into trouble with the league & was fined $3500 when he sent a live rat in a pink box to a female sportswriter in Oakland. It had a note attached that said, "my name is Sue". 

The sportswriter Sue Fornoff, who worked for the Sacramento Bee, claimed Kingman had harassed her in the past, saying "the locker room was not a place for woman". When he was questioned about it, Kingman said it was all a practical joke. 

He refused to apologize saying he had done practical jokes in the past & never had to apologize. The A’s told him if something like that happened again, he’d be released. Even in 1986 his future was doomed.

He became a free agent & no one went after him in the free agent market, even after hitting all those HRs the prior season. Kingman was awarded $829,000 in damages for owners' collusion. He went off & retired.

Career Stats: In his 16-season career, Dave Kingman batted .236, with 442 HRs (43rd all time) averaging a HR in every 15.1 at bats (19th best average all time). Kingman also hit 16 career grand slam HRs.

He has 1210 RBIs (149th all time), posting a .478 slugging % with 707 extra base hits (197th all time). He has 901 runs scored, 1575 hits, 240 doubles, 25 triples & 85 stolen bases. He drew 608 walks a .302 on base % & a .780 OPS in 1941 games played.

Strike out Kong: Kingman also struck out 1,816 times (23rd all time), in 6677 at bats.

In the outfield he made a total of 53 errors in 648 games with a .957 fielding %. At first base he made 73 errors in 603 games with a .985 fielding %.

Trivia: In his career his highest batting average against any team came while facing the Mets, as he batted .303 in 75 games. 

Retirement: In 1989 he played for the West Palm Beach Tropics in the short lived Senior Professional League. 

Mets Honors:  In 2008 after initially declining the offer to come to the Mets closing ceremonies of Shea Stadium, he surprised everyone by attending. 

He was greeted warmly deservedly so, by the fans & gave everyone a big smile back.  Kong was one of the biggest HR hitters in Mets history & should be remembered for it.

In 2013 he was on hand representing past Mets, at the MLB Fan Fest prior to the All-Star Game at Citi Field.

Family: Kingman has three children & lives in the Lake Tahoe area. His son Adam won on Season three of the reality show, Master Maker.