Over at BaseballEvolution.com, we have an award we give out each season called “The Dave Kingman Award.” In essence, the Dave Kingman Award rewards the player who does the least with the most.
The award is named in honor of perhaps the most unique power hitter of all time, Dave Kingman.
What made Dave Kingman so unique was his complete inability to do anything other than hit home runs. Power hitters regularly develop an ability to get on base via the walk, whether it is intentional or pitchers simply decide to keep the ball away from those hitters who punish the ball the most. Yet somehow, Dave Kingman managed to avoid getting on base as if he were being paid by gamblers.
Kingman had a life time batting average of .236 and his lifetime OBP was .302. His career high for on base percentage was .343, and his season OBP was below .300 six times. His career BB/K ratio is .333. These are truly atrocious numbers. And in that fateful 1986 season, when he hit 35 HR and finished third in the Majors, his OBP was an abysmal .255. Furthermore, his OPS for that year was .686.
To put that number in perspective, in 2003 Mark Grudzielanek had a .782 OPS and hit only 3 home runs.
What we’ve noticed over the years is that, while no has ever been quite as good at being so bad as Kingman, there have been several “Kingman Clones,” or guys who have come close. Here is a look at the top 10 of them.