December 07, 2006

I wonder how many times Rob Deer won this?

posted by mjkredliner at 09:17 AM on December 07, 2006

The Award has been given out annually since 1950 to the player “doing the least with the most.” As someone who always loved watching Dave Kingman come to the plate, everyone, even his detractors, have to admit one thing. You have to be a special athlete and human being to have ANY award named after you when you're only two years old (born in 1948).

posted by dyams at 10:00 AM on December 07, 2006

the award honors that hitter who puts up the biggest numbers without actually being a particularly valuable player Sounds like Andre Dawson should have gotten this award in his MVP season (the Cubbies finished in last place that year). I've often thought of someone like Steve "Bye Bye" Balboni more in the mold of Kingman, e.g.: I guy that had the ability to his 50+ dingers in a season, but hardly ever hit more than 20, and struck out more often than anything else he did at the plate.

posted by psmealey at 10:38 AM on December 07, 2006

Why do I get the feeling Frank Thomas is going to win this next year?

posted by chicobangs at 11:10 AM on December 07, 2006

I think Mayberry had pretty decent bat control in his prime. A Kingman is a go who can go yard against practically any pitcher in any park in any situations, but cannot execute anything else. He can't move runners over, he can't reliably hit sacrifice flies, he can't go the opposite way, he can't bunt, and he can't protect the plate. All he can pretty much do is hit home runs and strike out. So, you have to stick him in the 8 or 9 spot to minimize the damage he can do to kill a rally and hope for the best. Reggie Jackson, later in his career, certainly would have qualified for this. And it wasn't because he wasn't a great hitter (he was), it was because he had incredibly poor judgment.

posted by psmealey at 12:00 PM on December 07, 2006

OPS is "On Base Plus Slugging", which is the OBP (essentially, [hits+walks]/plate appearances) plus the SLG (total bases/plate appearances). It's a measurement of a players ability to get on base and move baserunners. It's a better way to determine a player's value to a team than using AVG (no sense of power or batting eye) or RBI (team-influenced and opportunity-loaded stat). OPS+ is a measurement of that player's OPS score versus the league average, taking into account park factors (some parks are much easier for hitters than others). An OPS+ of 100 is league average, while an OPS+ of 140 or higher is usually star level. Why do I get the feeling Frank Thomas is going to win this next year? Nah. He's put up HUGE OBP numbers every year except his two most injury plagued ones (2001, 2005), and his SLG has been WELL above average every season. So unless his body gets inhabited by the skill of Neifi Perez, he'll never be a candidate for the Kingman. I wonder how many times Rob Deer won this? Do not speak ill of the God of the Three True Outcomes.

posted by grum@work at 12:04 PM on December 07, 2006

Man, Juan Uribe sucks. I can't believe he got that many at bats on such a good club otherwise. They hid him well.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:06 PM on December 07, 2006

Man, Juan Uribe sucks. Maybe you didn't see that awesome catch he made in the World Series clincher at Houston when he went into the stands. (Kidding of course, but this is the kind of argument that often gets thrown out in these types of matters.) To the substance of these awards, I'm not sure I see the fixation on HR to RBI ratio. A high number of HR relative to RBI may or may not be an indicator of poor performance or not doing much with what you have, but without looking at the percentage of RBI opportunities cashed in on, it seems to me to be somewhat meaningless. Perhaps some of the hitters with high HR:RBI simply didn't have a lot of folks on in front of them.

posted by holden at 02:51 PM on December 07, 2006

Perhaps some of the hitters with high HR:RBI simply didn't have a lot of folks on in front of them. *cough*Bill Hall*cough*

posted by rocketman at 03:59 PM on December 07, 2006

Ye cats! How did he miss Burrell? Quite a drop in his numbers numbers with RISP and when behind in the count. And, I agree with yerfatma, Dunn's sweet swing (and decent baserunning skills) belie his Kingman like numbers. Do not speak ill of the God of The Three True Outcomes. OK, then how about all-time Dave Kingman Award consideration for Inky?

posted by mjkredliner at 04:47 PM on December 07, 2006

Does Norm Cash count?

posted by whodat at 06:43 PM on December 07, 2006

I nominate Jacque Jones for the Kingman Award. I just wish the Cubbies will snd him on his way so Matt Murton can be an everyday player. They should pick up Kenny Lofton for a stopgap until Felix Pie is ready.

posted by t money at 08:51 PM on December 07, 2006

I think you may understand the award better than its creator.

posted by yerfatma at 11:47 AM on December 08, 2006