Sunday, March 29, 2020

1978 FANTASY CARD- DAVE KINGMAN OF THE CALIFORNIA ANGELS

Today on the blog we have the fourth and final 1978 “fantasy” card of former slugger Dave Kingman, celebrating his whirlwind 1977 season when he played for four different teams, each one in a different league or division.
This one is the California Angels edition:


Kingman only appeared in ten games for the Angels before getting moved once again , this time to the eventual World Champion New York Yankees.
In his time with California, he hit two homers over 36 at-bats, driving in four and hitting .194 with seven hits, two of them doubles.
With all of that he still hit 26 homers that season, with 78 runs batted in and a “Dave Kingman-like” .221 batting average along with 143 strikeouts in 439 at-bats.
Of course he’d be “Kong” once again the following year with the Chicago Cubs, hitting 28 homers before leading Major League ball in 1979 with 48 bombs, a career-high, and another HR title in 1982 when he hit 37 for the New York Mets.
I was mesmerized and still am somewhat that the guy’s final year in the Majors produced 35 home runs and 94 RBI’s, only to walk away after being signed as a Free Agent by the San Francisco Giants that never led to anything after some Minor League action.
The enigma that is “Kong”.