Steroid guys typically get hurt. If you look at Kingman I don’t think unnaturally adding 18 pounds of muscle to that frame wound have allowed him to stay on the field as often
@@travismcdonald6576 precisely. But he was well liked among his teammates. On 1977 Yankees whom he finished season with he got along well with the Bronx Zoo Clubhouse which was immortalized in Sparky Lyle’s book and later the Bronx is Burning miniseries on ESPN.
@@Jose_Hunters_EWF_Remixes But besides Bonds, who else was "retired" with better numbers in his final season? I was right here, and it was the PC assholes in the local S.F. media who Me Too'd Kong way back then.
@@Ryan2022 You have to see Kingman's blast off of Eck at Fenway.....it may have been the highest and farthest to left field in the parks history. This one off of Clemens is just a mediocre hr compared to the one off of Eck. You won't believe it until you see it.
@@dadp9917 watching met games in the 1970s I seen kingman way off balance reach across the plate and with one hand hit balls over the 358 foot sign in left field at shea stadium into the bullpen !
Kingman had tremendous power more than any of his contemporaries in his time he was just such a head case and clubhouse cancer and 200 hitter he wasn’t worth the aggravation !
If kingman had been a nice guy maybe after the 1986 season in which he hit 35 home runs some team would have signed him and gave him a chance to hit 500 home runs but that tells you all you need to know about kingman 35 home runs and nobody wanted him !
There was an Old-Timers Home Run Derby at Veteran's Stadium around 1989 or so. Greg Luzinski hit a "pop up" that I swear was higher than the Vet was tall. Not to be out done, Dave Kingman hit a "pop up" at least 50 feet higher. I've never been so impressed with a pop up before or since.
I was at this game behind third base high in the grandstand. I've been to hundreds of games since and I don't think I've ever HEARD a louder homerun than Kingman's, the crack of the bat was astonishing!
I was at a game in May of '01, Fenway, against the A's. It was Manny's first season and he hit one out. The crowd, me included, winced at the sound the bat made at contact, as if we felt sorry for the ball. Of course, Manny would later be exposed as a cheat, but to this day, I've never heard anything close to that sound.
We saw Dave Kingman play for the Amarillo Giants in 1970. He struck out a lot, but he hit a lot too. The leftfield fence was 10 feet high and 365 feet from home. One of his homers was hit off a letter-high fastball. It cleared that leftfield fence by about three feet, and I would swear on a stack of Bibles that the ball was still rising when it went out. Hardest hit baseball I ever saw. What a great memory!
I remember watching him play for the Mets when I was a boy. Mom used to always say he would either strike out or hit a home run 😂. I guess you experienced it in person 😂
Collusion kept him out - they didn't want him hitting 500hr which was auto-hall of fame first ballot back then. He won a lawsuit I think...pretty cruel to do to a guy.
I saw both Kingman and Schmidt hit home runs at Shea Stadium. Both were moon shots. I was sitting in the upper deck (It was Dellwood Dairy night, for those of you of a certain age) and the Phillies were playing the Mets at a night game. And Schmidt put one in the parking lot. Then at the bottom of the inning, Kingman put one in the upper deck. Great night for watching baseballs fly.
In Spring Training in 1981 Rich Gossage served Kingman a blazing fastball right over the plate which Big Dave turned on and hit so high and far I think air traffic controllers picked it up on their screens. Even Gossage was in awe that night as Kingman rounded the bases on his round tripper.
They do. Kingman always had power. Shockingly Kingman hit Rodger curve ball on that Homer. Kingman usually don't hit junk pitches. he's a fastball only guy. .220 lifetime avg with over 1500 hits will tell you that but over 450 hr career it's still real impressive.
When kingman hit a home run it was an incredible thing to see that ball come of his bat. I followed baseball for 50 yrs. now & I have never seen another hitter that hit baseballs like that
@@Ryan2022 No he doesn't belong in the HOF but then again nether does Edgar Martinez who finally got in on a last chance sympathy vote with only 2247 hits and 308 home runs and a defensive liability which is why he was a DH. With the bar for entry being lowered maybe Kingman should be voted in?
@@Ryan2022 Harold Baines had better overall career numbers so a stronger case can be made with him. Edgar had 2247 career hits which is weak for a hall of famer. If 2247 hits and 308 home runs and a defensive liability is somehow Cooperstown worthy then maybe 442 home runs belongs as well despite the low average and also a defensive liability. If you're going to lower the standard then you have to be fair about it at least.
First game I can vividly remember watching as a kid. My dad took me to a game the year before but this was the night I count as my start as being an A's fan.
which brings up the question, if he had stayed healthy for his career, and played another year or so, and reached 500 HR's, would he be in the HOF with that .230 batting average?
It was indisputably collusion. Kingman sued for that very thing in 1995 and won. Kingman hit 35 home runs with 94 runs batted in during his last season, 1986.
Come on guys. Yes, he did have good power numbers that last season, but he hit .210!! Today, that would have kept him in the game until he was 40. But back then, that kind of an average (despite the power numbers) wasn't good enough. Even as a DH. Just look at that last season. a .255 OBP! Only a .431 slugging avg.!! .686 OPS!!!! Need to put it in historical perspective!!! Oh, and Adam Dunn had close numbers and was let go, even younger. History matters people.
What do you mean, short pass? he logged almost 2000 games. He just was not very good. A one-tool player who is generally hated everywhere he goes is lucky to have lasted as long as he did.
@@bauerj3398 Short pass as in short swing. He didn't have a big hitch like Canseco or any other extra motion. Still struck out a lot, maybe his vision was no good, but he hit the ball pretty well when he made contact.
Kingman! Love Al Michaels comment "two strikeouts and then he hits one three blocks away." Big Dave never needed the Andro or the HGH. Pure, phenomenal power from the Sky King. Still amazing!
He probably had that look the first time he went to Fenway Park in 1984. He got in a cab and told the driver to go to Fenway Park. When they arrived he thought the driver misunderstood his directions. He was wondering why they were at a warehouse until the driver pointed up and Clemens saw the light towers.
KONG. Met him at Shea in 82. Signed some autographs for me and my friends. Great guy. Had a long sheep skin jacket on. To an 11 year old, he was cool. He thought my bike was cool also, a Mongoose. Lol. Great guy.
Kingman was one of my favorite players. When he got a hold of a ball, I don't think there was a park that could contain the ball. The problem was that he struck out a lot.
@@martywheat9726 shockingly Dave Kingman Cards value has more value than Wade Boggs and many others. .220 avg with over 1500 hits is not the greatest but having over 450hr for his career is still very impressing.
Mind blowing that the A's had for at least one year three of the strongest bashers in baseball: Kingman, Canseco, and Maguire. Maguire was a rookie and was brought up late, but imagine if all three played a whole season.
I remember my dad talking about Dave Kingman. He went to a game at Olympic Stadium in Montreal when he was a kid where Kingman hit a foul ball clean out of the stadium. That would have been impressive to watch.
That game was played on June 1, 1977, when Kingman was with the Mets. The ball hit the ring at the top of the stadium, and there was a lengthy discussion as to whether it was in play. Umpire Bruce Froemming called it foul. It was a Wednesday night game televised in French on Radio-Canada (and may have been shown regionally in English on CBC in Quebec), so the video may still exist.
Kingman was the first player to have more than 400 home runs and not make the hall of fame. yes he did strike out alot but had his batting average been higher he'd would've been a shoe-in. I'm from the old school and lucky enough to see kingman at shea stadium put a couple of homers in the shea parking lot. i remember in 1977 playing for the yankees he hit a foul ball completely out of yankee stadium even that in itself was impossible to do.
Yeah i remember that too. He only played 8 games with the yankees and had 4 home runs in 24 AB. They might have thought that the 430 ft left center wall was too far for a whole season. I disagree.
For a guy who hit a lot of HRs, he sure got traded a lot. One year he was on 4 teams in one season. I guess all the strikeouts and low batting averages turned teams off. His tape measure HRs are fun to watch, though.
Kingman had power into his late 30s and was hitting bombs at 37. His Wrigley Field HR in 1979, the one you can find here on youtube... was simply unwordly power. Stanton and Trout are strong guys but Kong was unwordly at times.
Greg4fun the long gangly frame added 50 feet more than Alonso and Trout can do. I mean with comparable unjuiced balls. Willy McCovey I think had similar drives but I haven’t found videos He was also gangly but had more muscle than kingman
I saw Kingman hit about five homers live including one in the Vet, July 3, 1975, that was similar to the Fenway shot. Then one more moon shot on opening day 1976 or 1977. Seaver beat Carlton. But the point is that despite those feeble Mets teams I have 2-3 Kingman moonshots I remember 40+ years later
Kingman always had power. Over 450 homers....i would call that power. KRplus dave kingman home run at Wrigley you be more impressive that home run than what you just watched.
That swing looked like it was mostly wrists. I would imagine they could figure out bat speeds now. The bat speed or exit velocity or both will be off the charts. And got to say it again, it sounds like he hit a rock with that bat, unbelievable
as a kid I loved to watch his at bats(kingman)..didn't matter to me much about the Mets were winning or losing when it was his turn to bat I made sure I watch it..I was lucky to see many..as a Met in 1976 he hit one at Wrigley that was absolutely insane...can't find it here on KRplus..
Yes! I remember that home run. I think it was 1975 or 1976. Kingman hit it not only onto Waveland Ave outside Wrigley, but also broke the glass on the storm door of a house. I remember the replay on WOR Channel 9 showing the ball going right through the glass. I guess that inspired the Roy Hobbs line in The Natural a few years later when Redford’s character said “we broke a few windows out there, didn’t we.”
I saw the replay of that moonshot just after he hit it as the Mets game wasn't televised locally in Connecticut. It came down and hit the side of the 3rd or 4th house. A woman came running out of the house to see what happened. To my memory it was a bigger blast than the one that can be seen here when he played for the Cubs. Hands down the most powerful hitter in my lifetime.
@@richardbushey2666 Absolutely, Rich. Kingman could even reach for a ball low and outside and still hit it over the fence. Saw him do it many times. He was lanky but super strong.Btw, at the end of the 1977 season Big Dave was acquired by the Yankees and finished the season as their DH. Saw him hit a monster HR over the roof at Briggs Stadium in Detroit on a cloudy Saturday afternoon. The left fielder did not even move, he just watched it fly out of the ballpark. Because the Yankees acquired him after the trade deadline, he was ineligible for g the post season that year. Too bad as he always hit Dodger pitching like it was BP!
theres a vid ..on here ...playing against the pirates as a met....he gets jammed and hits it over right center in 3 rivers. dave parker jumped and failed...
@@emilyscandycakes4530 Hi, Emily! I watched that game live!!!!! September 1976 right after Big Dave returned from his hand injury. Kingman hit two round trippers that night, the second to the opposite field, which was surprising because he was a strict pull hitter most of his career. Mets had a good year and a strong finish as they were 86-76 that year. That gave hope for 1977 until the infamous Midnight Massacre in June 15.
Yehuda Finkelstein I think you're right. He was invited to spring training in 87, but there's some feeling that owners colluded to exclude him from continuing his career.
Yehuda Finkelstein The woman was, I think, Susan Fornoff. Kingman really wasn't a bad guy, but like some of us, desired privacy. One Mets reporter wrote something snarky after seeing Kingman leaving Met's Spring training with a fishing rod, going to also visit his Mom in Florida. Kingman responded by dumping a bucket of cold water over the reporter's head, saying, 'Now you've got two days worth of stories to write.'
Kingman's homeruns were worth two of everyone else!!! What an exciting player and a man before his time. If he were playing in today's game where strikeouts are not frowned upon as they once were he'd be a monster!!!
My times have changed. In 1986 you could see a sold-out ballpark on a weeknight. Back then sports meant something to people. There weren't many other options as opposed to today.
I was at fenway the year before for an A's games and watched from my seat staring straight down the left field line Kingman hit one over the light tower. I wanted him on the Red Sox so bad.
Big Dave playing on the Sox in his prime along with Yaz, Dewey Evans and Pudge would have been something to behold. Kingman was tailor made for Fenway as he hit high home runs which easily would have cleared the Green Monster which was a notorious converter of line drive home runs into doubles or even singles. Would have loved to see Big Dave play in Beantown.
@@derekjg1976 I've had more women than youve ever even seen just by the age of 15 ya little douchbag so replace your old kotex ya big diaper rash baby girl
He was one of the most unproductive hitters and players ever. He actually could have been a pitcher, but had tremendous power, but little else. If he did not hit a home run, he was largely useless as he was a terrible fielder, baserunner, never walked and hit very poorly.
Baloney! You obviously did not see him play regularly and are just spouting undue hatred for a very gifted power hitter. If you want to do nothing but spew hate, then point it towards Pete "The Pedophile" Rose for having sex with underaged girls 13-16 for nearly twenty years...then had the temerity to say "that was years ago" like it makes any difference.
I remember this game. Canseco ended up with 33 homers and was named AL Rookie of the Year. Kingman hit 35 homers and was out of the game for good after the 1986 season. Why he didn't continue his career is crazy in my opinion.
Exactly. Kingman definitely had two to three more good years left in him. Imagine if he would of stayed around to be on those "88 - 90" A's teams. One of baseball's greatest what if's.
@@rmartin7558 Actually, the Giants did (to a minor league deal) to be an insurance policy in case Will Clark didn't work out in his 1st full big league season. Clark worked out just fine and after Kingman hit .203 with 2 HRs in his first 20 games in AAA he decided to retire at age 38.
Greg Stephens I saw him hit a "cheap" one in San Diego when he was with the cubs. oh, did I mention that he swiped at it with one hand and hit it out to right center field. lol
And that was back when you had to hit it over a 17' high wall and into the stands to get a HR, because that would have been before they put the inner wall in prior to the 1982 season. Just imagine how many HR that park cost Dave Winfield in the eight years he played in San Diego, and they put in that inner fence a little more than a year after he left to join the Yankees.
@@cjs83172 That's why San Diego should've won more games, pennants & at least one more WS appearance. That park was built for pitching. Winfield lost 15-20 easy, but so did visiting batters. Tells you alot about Kroc's decision making. Because he ran a low budget operation, Padres lost George Brett back in '73. He wasn't willing to pay $1,000 more so he signed w/KC. Rest is history!
@@lloydkline6946 Finally someone who knows what fame is all about! We got the Met games in the 70's. My favorite Kinger at bat was against the powerful reds in Cincinnati..in a tie game, 9th inning, the Kinger was fooled on a pitch, flicked his wrists and the ball bounced off the right field fence for a game winning double....honest!
@@BillMorganChannel I from metro detroit grew with old tiger stadium, seen Cecil fielder left field roofer on KRplus, reggie Jackson right fielder roofer on KRplus, ❤ Dave King kong Kingman, Chicago cubs homerun on KRplus, shea stadium homeruns, I hear Dave King kong Kingman hit one out of old Yankees stadium in batting practice,,
@@BillMorganChannel have you seen Roger clemens and Jose Canseco & Dave King kong Kingman homeruns over green monster , Roger Clemson gave up green monster homerun to Jose Canseco but was not over green monster net, but Dave King kong Kingman green monster homerun was over green monster net 1986 on KRplus
@@BillMorganChannel I ❤ Cincinnati red big red machine, petr rose, joe Morgan, Johnny bench, george foster,,,, etc etc murder rows all over again, especially like early 1970s to mid 1970s
Beings that Dave Kingman is my all-time favorite player, and the fact that I really don't like Roger Clemens all that much, and I had never seen this before, helped make 👏 my 👏day 👏. Thank you to whoever posted this
@@donwert5039 Clemens was not on steroids in this game or anytime early in his career when he had most of his success. Pretty sure he turned to steroids like most aging players did during the 1990's when their ability's were starting to fade. Kingman was one who didn't need to, averaging 35 home runs and 100 RBI's his last 3 years. He ended his career the right way, staying in shape.
A couple that certainly come to mind were Mickey Mantle and Willie Stargell. They probably hit them farther than anyone in their eras, and their careers actually overlapped for seven years (1962-'68).
Schmidt was easily the best of the sluggers in the entire National League in that era, much less the best slugger in the Phillie lineup. There's a reason why he ended his career seventh on the career HR list at the time of his retirement. But from a pitcher's point of view, Luzinski was much more menacing and intimidating than Schmidt was to face. But you're absolutely right about Schmidt. Once he got into his prime in about 1976, you saw what happened with the Phillies from then through 1983. They made the post-season six times, won five NL East titles, two pennants, and the 1980 World Series. He wasn't the only reason, of course, but he was a very big reason why the Phillies had the greatest run of success in their history, to this day.
And once that happened in 1976, the Phillies were nearly unstoppable in the NL East, as they wrested control from their cross-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and until the Cardinals rose in 1982, they were the dominant team in the NL East, ceding control only to the Pirates in 1979 and the Expos in a playoff in 1981 before the Cardinals took over as that division's top team in 1982.
KONG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.... I've sat in the old bleachers back in the day and witnessed some Dk 🌙 shots, i actually caught 1 of his home run balls at 14 vs seattle 85'... He could really crush it... Even went the the exhibit hall try to get his autograph.. Failed..lol.. Worth the try tho.
He stopped playing because the baseball establishment deemed it unacceptable that he should be permitted the opportunity to enter into the rarefied air of the 500 HR Club which would virtually have guaranteed that his name/ unlikely and otherwise undeserved "candidacy" for Hall of Fame honors would forever torment the game.
+David Lafleche No, Kingman stopped playing because of 80s collusion with the owners. There's a lot of shows about that including on ESPN. He was included in a lawsuit that the free agents from that era won many years later.
Great video, this is the youngest (his age) MLB video I've seen of Canseco. Definitely smaller than a few years later... And his swing was quite a bit different.
here's a vid of the Canseco led A's from the next season 1987. He was still in his early raw days. The following year in 1988 he hit his peak and did the impossible, 40/40 AL MVP and World Series Grand Slam. krplus.net/bidio/lbmeqqVodGmvh3o
No PED's for Canseco at that point either. At least there didn't appear to be. It's a shame the path some went down later, when they didn't need it. They were good without it.
@Sonic Underground I was at that game too, behind third base just under the overhang. I distinctly remember how fast the ball went out and the crowd just going "Whoa." I still think that was the longest home run I've ever seen in person and I've always wondered how far it actually went. Well before the StatCast days, etc. I didn't remember Canseco also homering, so that's a cool bonus memory to add to the game.
I was on a little bus trip to vets stadium from Barnegat n.j. to see my favorite team the Mets play the Phillies. Kingman stole the show. Even his pop ups to the outfield were tremendous soaring into the air 3 times the height of the stadium. Often he would strike out but when he connected it was a tape measure home run !
Clemens wasn't on roids yet at that point. He went on them when he went to the Blue Jays in the late 90s. Canseco may have been already, though; not sure.
Since Dave Kingman was never accused of using steroids, had he played in the American League his whole career, he would have been primarily a DH, gotten more at bats, played more games and would have had at least 75 -100 home runs more: Hall of Famer. Look at his 3 years with the A's. Imagine that over a career.
This game is of historical interest for more than the home runs. It was Tony La Russa's first game as the A's manager, and it was Dave Stewart's first start in their rotation. A pretty bold move to put him up against the 15-1 Clemens. (We all know how that turned out long-term, too.) Stewart had been acquired in May but had only had a few relief appearances. Putting Stewart in the A's rotation was pretty much La Russa's first managerial decision. Stewart had pitched poorly (I'm trying to be nice here) since the 1983 season. La Russa must have had it in his head that when Stewart was with the Dodgers from '81 to '83, he had been pretty good, and successful as a starting pitcher. Maybe he played Strat-o-Matic, because I did and I knew. But it took real guts to start him in Fenway, which was a house of horrors for the A's in their down years, one of which 1986 was until La Russa took over.
yep all factually correct. This one game was the beginning of the LaRussa era A's that went to three straight World Series. LaRussa came in and changed the culture right away after the Billy Ball era imploded in 1982 and lingered for 3 more years until Tony was hired.
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Cool clip! My first reaction is just how small Canseco and Clemens look compared to later on.
I wonder why.
Kingman's HR landed right on my head and I've never been to Boston.
You win the internet!
Lmao 🤣 🤣 🤣
Love it ! Great comment
Legendary comment right there folks!
LMAO
If Dave Kingman had been on steroids, he would have hit 80 home runs!
He was the type of guy who would rather hit 40 home runs naturally while keeping the honor than be a super star while juicing.
@@Jose_Hunters_EWF_Remixes That's just what the media portrays because Kingman was not a flashy guy and didn't like to give interviews.
Steroid guys typically get hurt. If you look at Kingman I don’t think unnaturally adding 18 pounds of muscle to that frame wound have allowed him to stay on the field as often
@@travismcdonald6576 precisely. But he was well liked among his teammates. On 1977 Yankees whom he finished season with he got along well with the Bronx Zoo Clubhouse which was immortalized in Sparky Lyle’s book and later the Bronx is Burning miniseries on ESPN.
@@Jose_Hunters_EWF_Remixes But besides Bonds, who else was "retired" with better numbers in his final season? I was right here, and it was the PC assholes in the local S.F. media who Me Too'd Kong way back then.
I was a kid at this game in the bleachers. The Kingman blast was stunning. You hear the crowd go “ohhh”.
You can hear on this clip. From the Canseco hr there is a small clamor. For the Kingman blast you can tell the sound alone
Amazed the crowd
@@Ryan2022 You have to see Kingman's blast off of Eck at Fenway.....it may have been the highest and farthest to left field in the parks history. This one off of Clemens is just a mediocre hr compared to the one off of Eck. You won't believe it until you see it.
@@dadp9917 watching met games in the 1970s I seen kingman way off balance reach across the plate and with one hand hit balls over the 358 foot sign in left field at shea stadium into the bullpen !
Kingman had tremendous power more than any of his contemporaries in his time he was just such a head case and clubhouse cancer and 200 hitter he wasn’t worth the aggravation !
If kingman had been a nice guy maybe after the 1986 season in which he hit 35 home runs some team would have signed him and gave him a chance to hit 500 home runs but that tells you all you need to know about kingman 35 home runs and nobody wanted him !
2 different generations of guys who hit between 400 and 500 HRs career back to back wow
There was an Old-Timers Home Run Derby at Veteran's Stadium around 1989 or so. Greg Luzinski hit a "pop up" that I swear was higher than the Vet was tall. Not to be out done, Dave Kingman hit a "pop up" at least 50 feet higher. I've never been so impressed with a pop up before or since.
As a MLB player he put one though the roof of the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome in Minnesota.
the bull great power hitter i swear when the mts played the phillies and he and Mike schimdt would hit back to back my god
The sound of the bat crushing that Kingman blast WOW!
That ball is set to leave the solar system in 2031
Kingman could have been a better player he was just lazy !
Never seen anyone since kingman who could hit a ball that far !
I was at this game behind third base high in the grandstand. I've been to hundreds of games since and I don't think I've ever HEARD a louder homerun than Kingman's, the crack of the bat was astonishing!
I was at a game in May of '01, Fenway, against the A's. It was Manny's first season and he hit one out. The crowd, me included, winced at the sound the bat made at contact, as if we felt sorry for the ball. Of course, Manny would later be exposed as a cheat, but to this day, I've never heard anything close to that sound.
Dave Kingman! Pure homerun hitter. Thanks for the video.
Yes I remember watching Dave Kingman when he hits home runs there are 450 550 foot home runs very powerful guy
We saw Dave Kingman play for the Amarillo Giants in 1970. He struck out a lot, but he hit a lot too. The leftfield fence was 10 feet high and 365 feet from home. One of his homers was hit off a letter-high fastball. It cleared that leftfield fence by about three feet, and I would swear on a stack of Bibles that the ball was still rising when it went out. Hardest hit baseball I ever saw. What a great memory!
I remember watching him play for the Mets when I was a boy. Mom used to always say he would either strike out or hit a home run 😂. I guess you experienced it in person 😂
When I was 9-10 years old Dave Kingman was one of my heros
ME 2
@@frankmerris8821 me 3... right behind Buckner and Sandberg.
Kong is my all time fav ball player. I went and watched lot of the games at Wrigley the year he hit 48. Unbelievable power!
Kingman was surly like randy Johnson
But I might explode myself having cameras and microphones shoved in my face
@@ernestpassaro9663 Yeah he wasn't the friendliest person thats for sure.
@@hammeredwithhorror he was a head case lol
He could have hit at least 40 a year with the power he had once again laziness
Was just checking out Kingman's numbers. Dude had 35 HRs and 94 RBIs in his final year in the Bigs. Crazy.
Collusion kept him out - they didn't want him hitting 500hr which was auto-hall of fame first ballot back then. He won a lawsuit I think...pretty cruel to do to a guy.
And I think he batted .196.
@@rufuspipemoshahahahaha
Yeah - he was locked out of baseball. They didn't want him to get to 500hrs for a HOF must. He said the owners colluded.
Kingman had more raw power than any player I ever seen !
me too as a met fan my childhood was filled with losing until 86 but kingman was the only reason i would watch back then
I saw dave kingman hit a home run in 1975. I think it still has not landed
It has grown a beard the last I heard.
❤Dave King kong Kingman, knock baseball ⚾️into cloudd
I saw both Kingman and Schmidt hit home runs at Shea Stadium. Both were moon shots. I was sitting in the upper deck (It was Dellwood Dairy night, for those of you of a certain age) and the Phillies were playing the Mets at a night game. And Schmidt put one in the parking lot. Then at the bottom of the inning, Kingman put one in the upper deck. Great night for watching baseballs fly.
In Spring Training in 1981 Rich Gossage served Kingman a blazing fastball right over the plate which Big Dave turned on and hit so high and far I think air traffic controllers picked it up on their screens. Even Gossage was in awe that night as Kingman rounded the bases on his round tripper.
@@dangelo1369 Dave King kong Kingman ❤ him &mike Schmidt ❤him too
Most of Kingman's homeruns looked like that.
They do. Kingman always had power. Shockingly Kingman hit Rodger curve ball on that Homer.
Kingman usually don't hit junk pitches. he's a fastball only guy. .220 lifetime avg with over 1500 hits will tell you that but over 450 hr career it's still real impressive.
@@tonyflores240 that wasn't a curve he hit. Canseco hit a curve. Kingman hit the fastball that he K'd on his first 2 atbats.
All or nothing for Kingman
@@TheBigwillistyle Yep
The question is if Dave played in hitters ballparks and hit the magic number of 500, but maintained the 236 ba does he make the HOF?
When kingman hit a home run it was an incredible thing to see that ball come of his bat. I followed baseball for 50 yrs. now & I have never seen another hitter that hit baseballs like that
In his time nobody hit them as far as kingman !
They went high and far and brought rain !
Kong was the living definition of "Fish or cut bait".
Shit or get off the pot...stick and move...we ain't got it,you dont need it
He had a .255 OBP that season. Anyone who thinks Kingman is a Hall of Famer needs to have their head examined. That is so atrocious
@@Ryan2022 No he doesn't belong in the HOF but then again nether does Edgar Martinez who finally got in on a last chance sympathy vote with only 2247 hits and 308 home runs and a defensive liability which is why he was a DH. With the bar for entry being lowered maybe Kingman should be voted in?
@@artboston4787 well Harold Baines is in too
@@Ryan2022 Harold Baines had better overall career numbers so a stronger case can be made with him. Edgar had 2247 career hits which is weak for a hall of famer. If 2247 hits and 308 home runs and a defensive liability is somehow Cooperstown worthy then maybe 442 home runs belongs as well despite the low average and also a defensive liability. If you're going to lower the standard then you have to be fair about it at least.
Jesus.. that Kingman shot was a BOMB.
LOL That was. He absolutely crushed it.
Dave King kong Kingman homerun hit the clouds
I never saw a player like Kingman who could hit a 450 ft. home run and say, " i did not think he got all of it".
First game I can vividly remember watching as a kid. My dad took me to a game the year before but this was the night I count as my start as being an A's fan.
I love how someone yells out after Kingman's blast, "Get the hook!"
The good old days of baseball !!! I used to love the sport back when the small market teams had a pretty good chance of winning the World Series.
"Ruthian clout!" You never hear Joe Buck say things like that!
Quite frankly quite possibly and even more so the 2 greatest words that a human has ever said "Ruthian Clout"
he’s too busy drinking with Aikman in the booth
@The Ghost he doesn't have the eloquence or erudition of Cosell or Costas.
Buck calls a game like he's a 12y old who's dad made him do it.
Who cares about announcers/commenting. I just hit mute, enable cc and listen to music at the same time. You all should try it.
Kingman's bat speed was incredible.
Dont rule out the owners collusion that was happening at the time. It was also likely a factor why Kingman was not signed after the 86 season
Yep, I just watched an interview with him from 2013 in which he stated that very thing.
Max Carey He would've had 500 HRs easily. He finished with 35 in his final year. Hardly washed up
which brings up the question, if he had stayed healthy for his career, and played another year or so, and reached 500 HR's, would he be in the HOF with that .230 batting average?
It was indisputably collusion. Kingman sued for that very thing in 1995 and won. Kingman hit 35 home runs with 94 runs batted in during his last season, 1986.
Come on guys. Yes, he did have good power numbers that last season, but he hit .210!! Today, that would have kept him in the game until he was 40. But back then, that kind of an average (despite the power numbers) wasn't good enough. Even as a DH. Just look at that last season. a .255 OBP! Only a .431 slugging avg.!! .686 OPS!!!! Need to put it in historical perspective!!! Oh, and Adam Dunn had close numbers and was let go, even younger. History matters people.
I was at this game. In 1986, Clemens was 24-4. I went to two games that he pitched that year and he was 0-2. I'm not a good luck charm I guess 🙄
Kingman had an unbelievably short pass for a guy who was consistently hitting tape measure homeruns.
He was a total asshole, but damm he could hit HR's
What do you mean, short pass? he logged almost 2000 games. He just was not very good. A one-tool player who is generally hated everywhere he goes is lucky to have lasted as long as he did.
@@bauerj3398 Short pass as in short swing. He didn't have a big hitch like Canseco or any other extra motion. Still struck out a lot, maybe his vision was no good, but he hit the ball pretty well when he made contact.
Kingman could do one thing and do it well hit tape measure hrs will never forget some of them !
@That Retroholic upper cut swing like most left handed hitters have
Kingman! Love Al Michaels comment "two strikeouts and then he hits one three blocks away." Big Dave never needed the Andro or the HGH. Pure, phenomenal power from the Sky King. Still amazing!
A juiced Kong would have hit 700 HRs
Put a red sock in it
Yes, Matt Don, Big Dave hit the ball far, high, and seldom.
Schmidt better.
Kingman doesn’t look as thin as he once did, though.
KING KONG
I grew up a Cubs fan.
Thanks for the memories.
Canseco RULES.
Clemens always had that confused look on his face. "Where am I and how did I get here?"
He probably had that look the first time he went to Fenway Park in 1984. He got in a cab and told the driver to go to Fenway Park. When they arrived he thought the driver misunderstood his directions. He was wondering why they were at a warehouse until the driver pointed up and Clemens saw the light towers.
Still does..
KONG. Met him at Shea in 82. Signed some autographs for me and my friends. Great guy. Had a long sheep skin jacket on. To an 11 year old, he was cool. He thought my bike was cool also, a Mongoose. Lol. Great guy.
You knew that ball was on Landsdowne St after hearing the sound of Kingman making contact.
Kingman was one of my favorite players. When he got a hold of a ball, I don't think there was a park that could contain the ball. The problem was that he struck out a lot.
So do all power hitters ! Kingman s 0/4 was more exciting than Wade boggs 4/4
@@martywheat9726 shockingly Dave Kingman Cards value has more value than Wade Boggs and many others.
.220 avg with over 1500 hits is not the greatest but having over 450hr for his career is still very impressing.
No, Jose's Gaming Channel, no park could contain Kingman's blasts, not even Yellowstone.
@@martywheat9726 no
Kingman could hit the ball out of any park between his numerous strikeouts !
I watched Kong when he was a Cub. Many good memories
❤Dave King kong Kingman, knock baseball ⚾️into clouds
13 HRs in 72 ABs at Fenway, in his career ! Awesome numbers, without question.
Legend has it Kingman’s blast narrowly missed a plane at 35,000 feet.
Mind blowing that the A's had for at least one year three of the strongest bashers in baseball: Kingman, Canseco, and Maguire. Maguire was a rookie and was brought up late, but imagine if all three played a whole season.
I remember my dad talking about Dave Kingman. He went to a game at Olympic Stadium in Montreal when he was a kid where Kingman hit a foul ball clean out of the stadium. That would have been impressive to watch.
That game was played on June 1, 1977, when Kingman was with the Mets. The ball hit the ring at the top of the stadium, and there was a lengthy discussion as to whether it was in play. Umpire Bruce Froemming called it foul. It was a Wednesday night game televised in French on Radio-Canada (and may have been shown regionally in English on CBC in Quebec), so the video may still exist.
I call BS
@@joeambrose3260 hahahaha great comment hahaha
@@orbyfan That's likely why they ended up extending the foul pole all the way up to the ring.
Seen him hit a foul ball clear out of yankee stadium
Kingman shows em how it's done!
I love those old school Oakland uniforms!
Kingman was the first player to have more than 400 home runs and not make the hall of fame. yes he did strike out alot but had his batting average been higher he'd would've been a shoe-in. I'm from the old school and lucky enough to see kingman at shea stadium put a couple of homers in the shea parking lot. i remember in 1977 playing for the yankees he hit a foul ball completely out of yankee stadium even that in itself was impossible to do.
Yeah i remember that too. He only played 8 games with the yankees and had 4 home runs in 24 AB. They might have thought that the 430 ft left center wall was too far for a whole season. I disagree.
For a guy who hit a lot of HRs, he sure got traded a lot. One year he was on 4 teams in one season. I guess all the strikeouts and low batting averages turned teams off. His tape measure HRs are fun to watch, though.
Dave "King Kong" Kingman with major blast.
Kingman had power into his late 30s and was hitting bombs at 37. His Wrigley Field HR in 1979, the one you can find here on youtube... was simply unwordly power. Stanton and Trout are strong guys but Kong was unwordly at times.
Greg4fun krplus.net/bidio/oc2imKWWpozXg2U 500 foot Dave Kingman homerun at Wrigley Field
John Mongani yup.. some have said it was even 530 to 550. I did google map distance and it was around the 530 mark guestimate. What a bomb.
Joe M agree.....KONG BOMB!!!
Greg4fun the long gangly frame added 50 feet more than Alonso and Trout can do. I mean with comparable unjuiced balls. Willy McCovey I think had similar drives but I haven’t found videos He was also gangly but had more muscle than kingman
I saw Kingman hit about five homers live including one in the Vet, July 3, 1975, that was similar to the Fenway shot. Then one more moon shot on opening day 1976 or 1977. Seaver beat Carlton. But the point is that despite those feeble Mets teams I have 2-3 Kingman moonshots I remember 40+ years later
I would love to know what kind of bat speed that was for the Kingman blast because it looked unbelievable.
I saw that game live on tv in Philly l,the late great Harry Kalas was very impressed😂
Kingman always had power. Over 450 homers....i would call that power.
KRplus dave kingman home run at Wrigley you be more impressive that home run than what you just watched.
not to mention the sound!
Once seen, a Kingman HR is never forgotten
That swing looked like it was mostly wrists. I would imagine they could figure out bat speeds now. The bat speed or exit velocity or both will be off the charts. And got to say it again, it sounds like he hit a rock with that bat, unbelievable
Thanks for these great uploads! Love Kingman.
Kingman had the longest arms I’ve ever seen in baseball on a 6’6 frame. When he got contact on full extension it went a long way.
as a kid I loved to watch his at bats(kingman)..didn't matter to me much about the Mets were winning or losing when it was his turn to bat I made sure I watch it..I was lucky to see many..as a Met in 1976 he hit one at Wrigley that was absolutely insane...can't find it here on KRplus..
Yes! I remember that home run. I think it was 1975 or 1976. Kingman hit it not only onto Waveland Ave outside Wrigley, but also broke the glass on the storm door of a house. I remember the replay on WOR Channel 9 showing the ball going right through the glass. I guess that inspired the Roy Hobbs line in The Natural a few years later when Redford’s character said “we broke a few windows out there, didn’t we.”
I saw the replay of that moonshot just after he hit it as the Mets game wasn't televised locally in Connecticut. It came down and hit the side of the 3rd or 4th house. A woman came running out of the house to see what happened. To my memory it was a bigger blast than the one that can be seen here when he played for the Cubs.
Hands down the most powerful hitter in my lifetime.
@@richardbushey2666 Absolutely, Rich. Kingman could even reach for a ball low and outside and still hit it over the fence. Saw him do it many times. He was lanky but super strong.Btw, at the end of the 1977 season Big Dave was acquired by the Yankees and finished the season as their DH. Saw him hit a monster HR over the roof at Briggs Stadium in Detroit on a cloudy Saturday afternoon. The left fielder did not even move, he just watched it fly out of the ballpark. Because the Yankees acquired him after the trade deadline, he was ineligible for g the post season that year. Too bad as he always hit Dodger pitching like it was BP!
theres a vid ..on here ...playing against the pirates as a met....he gets jammed and hits it over right center in 3 rivers. dave parker jumped and failed...
@@emilyscandycakes4530 Hi, Emily! I watched that game live!!!!! September 1976 right after Big Dave returned from his hand injury. Kingman hit two round trippers that night, the second to the opposite field, which was surprising because he was a strict pull hitter most of his career. Mets had a good year and a strong finish as they were 86-76 that year. That gave hope for 1977 until the infamous Midnight Massacre in June 15.
I would have loved to have seen Canseco, Kingman, and Mcguire, 3-4-5 in 1987. that would have produced about 120 homers.
Kingman sent a dead rat to some woman beat reporter he hated. The A's released him and Kingman never played again.
Yehuda Finkelstein Not exactly. The rat was live. He was fined $3,500. He played the rest of 1986.
Kingman still never played after that season, despite hitting 35 HRs.
Yehuda Finkelstein I think you're right. He was invited to spring training in 87, but there's some feeling that owners colluded to exclude him from continuing his career.
Yehuda Finkelstein The woman was, I think, Susan Fornoff. Kingman really wasn't a bad guy, but like some of us, desired privacy. One Mets reporter wrote something snarky after seeing Kingman leaving Met's Spring training with a fishing rod, going to also visit his Mom in Florida. Kingman responded by dumping a bucket of cold water over the reporter's head, saying, 'Now you've got two days worth of stories to write.'
Kingman's homeruns were worth two of everyone else!!! What an exciting player and a man before his time. If he were playing in today's game where strikeouts are not frowned upon as they once were he'd be a monster!!!
Even today's stat nerds would tell you he was dogshit for his post-Cubs career....
No one with a lifetime .303 OBP with a slugging % under .500 is a monster.
@@pullt He’s one of the worst players who is popular that I have ever seen
@@Ryan2022 Agreed. Massive moonshots + Cubs/Mets teams of that era having little else to cheer for is why he remains overrated by some....
@@pullt agreed. The sheer distance of his home runs help his reputation
02:30 Knock ! Listen to THAT bat !!! ;D
My times have changed. In 1986 you could see a sold-out ballpark on a weeknight.
Back then sports meant something to people. There weren't many other options as opposed to today.
bring back the roids
I was at fenway the year before for an A's games and watched from my seat staring straight down the left field line Kingman hit one over the light tower. I wanted him on the Red Sox so bad.
Big Dave playing on the Sox in his prime along with Yaz, Dewey Evans and Pudge would have been something to behold. Kingman was tailor made for Fenway as he hit high home runs which easily would have cleared the Green Monster which was a notorious converter of line drive home runs into doubles or even singles. Would have loved to see Big Dave play in Beantown.
Kingman at Fenway 80 hrs lol
Kingman could hit one over the moon between strikeouts lol
That’s what you got with kingman 200 batting average terrible defensive 150 plus strikeouts and shitty attitude !
@@ernestpassaro9663 Certainly! He became somewhat a better hitter the older he got as he became more patient. But his strike outs usually led league.
great rare clip of Canseco during his rookie season.
And with one mighty swing,Kingman destroys not only one baseball but 2 steroid boys !!!! :-)
And you still have never touched a female.
@@derekjg1976 I've had more women than youve ever even seen just by the age of 15 ya little douchbag so replace your old kotex ya big diaper rash baby girl
@@johnkolakowski4253 Dude STFU. You really sound like a great big jagoff more than anything.
@@manuginobilisbaldspot424 Now now little girl... didn't yer mommy tell you yer mouth wasn't made for breaking wind fart brain 😂
He played with em.. are you sure he didn’t take em too🤔
Never seen Canseco play his rookie yr until now 😀
Dave Kingman was truly Unique,a one of a kind hitter. The likes we've never seen before or since and absolutely HOF worthy!!!!!
Wasn't a complete player, or even a complete hitter. Just had power.
Nowhere close to HOF worthy. Barely an all star worthy player most seasons.
@@Frank_Cohen barely roster spot worthy for most of the 80s....
He was one of the most unproductive hitters and players ever. He actually could have been a pitcher, but had tremendous power, but little else. If he did not hit a home run, he was largely useless as he was a terrible fielder, baserunner, never walked and hit very poorly.
Baloney! You obviously did not see him play regularly and are just spouting undue hatred for a very gifted power hitter. If you want to do nothing but spew hate, then point it towards Pete "The Pedophile" Rose for having sex with underaged girls 13-16 for nearly twenty years...then had the temerity to say "that was years ago" like it makes any difference.
I love the Fenway Park public address guy from this era. Just the way he croaks his announcements was so unique. 14......Bochte.....first base
Sherman Feller.
damn!! the sound of the bat hitting that ball
Imagine if Kingman was a little younger and could hit consistently like when he batted .288 in 1979 the Bash Brothers would've been a trio.
Kingman's last three seasons in Oakland were really good. He hit 100 HR's drove in 303 RBI's in 449 games.
I remember this game. Canseco ended up with 33 homers and was named AL Rookie of the Year. Kingman hit 35 homers and was out of the game for good after the 1986 season. Why he didn't continue his career is crazy in my opinion.
Exactly. Kingman definitely had two to three more good years left in him. Imagine if he would of stayed around to be on those "88 - 90" A's teams. One of baseball's greatest what if's.
With that robust .198 batting average, .250 obp., and more strikeouts than hits going on 40, I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't sign him.
@@rmartin7558 Actually, the Giants did (to a minor league deal) to be an insurance policy in case Will Clark didn't work out in his 1st full big league season. Clark worked out just fine and after Kingman hit .203 with 2 HRs in his first 20 games in AAA he decided to retire at age 38.
Because nobody would Sign him they didn't want him to get to 500 and the hall of fame
@@donwhiteley3293 Exactly. He was done.
Kingman was one of my favorite players when he was on the Cubs
Kingman blasted that one. Holy Jeez.
That ball was absolutely crushed by Kingman. Did he ever have any "cheap" home runs? haha
Greg Stephens I saw him hit a "cheap" one in San Diego when he was with the cubs. oh, did I mention that he swiped at it with one hand and hit it out to right center field. lol
And that was back when you had to hit it over a 17' high wall and into the stands to get a HR, because that would have been before they put the inner wall in prior to the 1982 season. Just imagine how many HR that park cost Dave Winfield in the eight years he played in San Diego, and they put in that inner fence a little more than a year after he left to join the Yankees.
Kingman: strikeout, strikeout, crushes it into Boston Harbor. Dave Kingman in a nutshell. Even Al Michaels said it
FootballJunkie correct 100 percent.
@@cjs83172 That's why San Diego should've won more games, pennants & at least one more WS appearance. That park was built for pitching. Winfield lost 15-20 easy, but so did visiting batters. Tells you alot about Kroc's decision making. Because he ran a low budget operation, Padres lost George Brett back in '73. He wasn't willing to pay $1,000 more so he signed w/KC. Rest is history!
Kinger for the Hall of Fame!
Got my vote dave king kong Kingman, his homerun touch the clouds
@@lloydkline6946 Finally someone who knows what fame is all about!
We got the Met games in the 70's. My favorite Kinger at bat was against the powerful reds in Cincinnati..in a tie game, 9th inning, the Kinger was fooled on a pitch, flicked his wrists and the ball bounced off the right field fence for a game winning double....honest!
@@BillMorganChannel I from metro detroit grew with old tiger stadium, seen Cecil fielder left field roofer on KRplus, reggie Jackson right fielder roofer on KRplus, ❤ Dave King kong Kingman, Chicago cubs homerun on KRplus, shea stadium homeruns, I hear Dave King kong Kingman hit one out of old Yankees stadium in batting practice,,
@@BillMorganChannel have you seen Roger clemens and Jose Canseco & Dave King kong Kingman homeruns over green monster , Roger Clemson gave up green monster homerun to Jose Canseco but was not over green monster net, but Dave King kong Kingman green monster homerun was over green monster net 1986 on KRplus
@@BillMorganChannel I ❤ Cincinnati red big red machine, petr rose, joe Morgan, Johnny bench, george foster,,,, etc etc murder rows all over again, especially like early 1970s to mid 1970s
Beings that Dave Kingman is my all-time favorite player, and the fact that I really don't like Roger Clemens all that much, and I had never seen this before, helped make 👏 my 👏day 👏.
Thank you to whoever posted this
you're very welcome.....
@@johnmongani5223 I also thank you because Rodger Clemens definitely took steroids and Dave Kingman belongs in the Hall of Fame look at his statistics
@@donwert5039 Clemens was not on steroids in this game or anytime early in his career when he had most of his success. Pretty sure he turned to steroids like most aging players did during the 1990's when their ability's were starting to fade. Kingman was one who didn't need to, averaging 35 home runs and 100 RBI's his last 3 years. He ended his career the right way, staying in shape.
@@johnmongani5223 it doesn't matter when he was on steroids he's a total a whole prick
Wow. Where has 32 years gone?
Gone with the wind
I don’t know, when I was 10 they seemed like gods to me.
Before steroids there was Dave "King Kong" Kingman!
Barry bonds should taken lessons from Dave King kong Kingman on steroids free homeruns
And during steroids there was Roger Clemens
Dave Kong Kingman the only player to be traded three times in one season and still hit over 30 home runs for the season
No he didn't i think 27 78 rbis
@@johnconnell4503 I will I thought it was exactly 30
damn, that CRACK off Kingman's bat.
I can't think of too many players who could hit them as far as Kingman: Reggie, Dick Allen, a few others.
A couple that certainly come to mind were Mickey Mantle and Willie Stargell. They probably hit them farther than anyone in their eras, and their careers actually overlapped for seven years (1962-'68).
I forgot about the Bull. Greg Luzinski was probably more menacing than Mike Schmidt was on those Phillies teams from the mid 70s to 1980.
Schmidt was easily the best of the sluggers in the entire National League in that era, much less the best slugger in the Phillie lineup. There's a reason why he ended his career seventh on the career HR list at the time of his retirement. But from a pitcher's point of view, Luzinski was much more menacing and intimidating than Schmidt was to face.
But you're absolutely right about Schmidt. Once he got into his prime in about 1976, you saw what happened with the Phillies from then through 1983. They made the post-season six times, won five NL East titles, two pennants, and the 1980 World Series. He wasn't the only reason, of course, but he was a very big reason why the Phillies had the greatest run of success in their history, to this day.
And once that happened in 1976, the Phillies were nearly unstoppable in the NL East, as they wrested control from their cross-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and until the Cardinals rose in 1982, they were the dominant team in the NL East, ceding control only to the Pirates in 1979 and the Expos in a playoff in 1981 before the Cardinals took over as that division's top team in 1982.
Daniel Zanier Giancarlo Stanton
Clemens was 24-4 that year. Guess this was one of the four
It was his second loss, with his first loss coming in his previous start vs Toronto.
He never beat Dave Stewart. There used to be such a thing as pitching rivalries until we decided that starters only need to go four innings
Canseco's first season, Kingman's last, and Clemens' MVP season
A nice confluence of careers there.
WOW WEE !!! 12 homeruns in 65 at bats ... Dave Kingman was a monster
He got a 13th later. 13 in 18 games
Canseco hit so many off balance homeruns that barely cleared the fence... and also enormous blasts that are legendary
KONG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.... I've sat in the old bleachers back in the day and witnessed some Dk 🌙 shots, i actually caught 1 of his home run balls at 14 vs seattle 85'... He could really crush it... Even went the the exhibit hall try to get his autograph.. Failed..lol.. Worth the try tho.
Kingman was something👍 Today you’ve got Judge whiffing 3 times a game yet hardly mentioned.
Canseco; Man, did you see what I just did? Kingman: Hold my jock strap, son.
imagine if kingman played in boston everyday.
Well Kingman played at Wrigley, once upon a time. Most likely if the wind was blowing out, he could've sent one to Lake Michigan.
Kingman hit 13 homers in only 76 AB at Fenway. He had an .816 SLG at Fenway. Unbelievable.
600 career HR, no sweat
He'd hit 60 doubles a yr off the GM
He stopped playing because the baseball establishment deemed it unacceptable that he should be permitted the opportunity to enter into the rarefied air of the 500 HR Club which would virtually have guaranteed that his name/ unlikely and otherwise undeserved "candidacy" for Hall of Fame honors would forever torment the game.
Kingman stopped playing because he was a lousy hitter who could only do home runs.
+David Lafleche No, Kingman stopped playing because of 80s collusion with the owners. There's a lot of shows about that including on ESPN. He was included in a lawsuit that the free agents from that era won many years later.
I wouldn't trust anything that came out of ESPN, not after the way they trashed innocent people like Curt Schilling and Tom Brady.
+David Lafleche The story of 80s collusion is well documented. It was a real lawsuit and it wasn't just on ESPN.
What really happened: Kingman sent a dead rat to some woman beat reporter he hated. The A's released him and Kingman never played again.
Great video, this is the youngest (his age) MLB video I've seen of Canseco. Definitely smaller than a few years later... And his swing was quite a bit different.
here's a vid of the Canseco led A's from the next season 1987. He was still in his early raw days. The following year in 1988 he hit his peak and did the impossible, 40/40 AL MVP and World Series Grand Slam. krplus.net/bidio/lbmeqqVodGmvh3o
I call BS
This game was played on July 7, 1986.
Ah those were the days,
The A's and Dave Stewart owned Clemons.
Kingman .... real power and not the PEDs
People forget that, at least early in his career, he was a helluva base runner and could steal 20 bases a year.
Wouldn't matter a whole lot even if he did .They weren't banned until 91 . In the 70s they using amphetamines and other drugs.
No shit, Sherlock
No PED's for Canseco at that point either. At least there didn't appear to be. It's a shame the path some went down later, when they didn't need it. They were good without it.
Like early Bonds. Prob would've done just as well w/o roids & by now a HOFer.
@Sonic Underground I was at that game too, behind third base just under the overhang. I distinctly remember how fast the ball went out and the crowd just going "Whoa." I still think that was the longest home run I've ever seen in person and I've always wondered how far it actually went. Well before the StatCast days, etc. I didn't remember Canseco also homering, so that's a cool bonus memory to add to the game.
You probably don’t remember the Canseco homerun because it was a cheapie
I was on a little bus trip to vets stadium from Barnegat n.j. to see my favorite team the Mets play the Phillies. Kingman stole the show. Even his pop ups to the outfield were tremendous soaring into the air 3 times the height of the stadium. Often he would strike out but when he connected it was a tape measure home run !
Kingman! THE MOST POWERFUL HR hitter since RUTH! INCREDIBLE POWER!
July 7 1986
What was Tommy Lasorda's opinion of Kingman's performance?
Clemens vs Canseco, roids vs roids.
Clemens wasn't on roids yet at that point. He went on them when he went to the Blue Jays in the late 90s. Canseco may have been already, though; not sure.
Kingman with the check-swing 450 footer. I used to watch him at Wrigley get fooled by curves and hit them onto Waveland with only one hand on the bat.
F - Kong could hit some shots!
Jesus Kingman fucking hammered that
Conseco and Clemons so young.
Kingman needs to be in the hall of fame
The announcers were so much better back then.
No hyper loud BS.
Just down to earth play by play.
Was that Al Michaels as lead broadcaster?
Since Dave Kingman was never accused of using steroids, had he played in the American League his whole career, he would have been primarily a DH, gotten more at bats, played more games and would have had at least 75 -100 home runs more: Hall of Famer. Look at his 3 years with the A's. Imagine that over a career.
This game is of historical interest for more than the home runs. It was Tony La Russa's first game as the A's manager, and it was Dave Stewart's first start in their rotation. A pretty bold move to put him up against the 15-1 Clemens. (We all know how that turned out long-term, too.) Stewart had been acquired in May but had only had a few relief appearances. Putting Stewart in the A's rotation was pretty much La Russa's first managerial decision. Stewart had pitched poorly (I'm trying to be nice here) since the 1983 season. La Russa must have had it in his head that when Stewart was with the Dodgers from '81 to '83, he had been pretty good, and successful as a starting pitcher. Maybe he played Strat-o-Matic, because I did and I knew. But it took real guts to start him in Fenway, which was a house of horrors for the A's in their down years, one of which 1986 was until La Russa took over.
yep all factually correct. This one game was the beginning of the LaRussa era A's that went to three straight World Series. LaRussa came in and changed the culture right away after the Billy Ball era imploded in 1982 and lingered for 3 more years until Tony was hired.
King Man said, "Get that sh%$# out of here"..