Ken Singleton

Kenneth Wayne Singleton

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 213 lb.
• School Hofstra University
• High School Mount Vernon (NY) High School
• Debut June 24, 1970
• Final Game September 25, 1984
• Born June 10, 1947 in New York, NY USA

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Biographical Information

Ken Singleton, who played 15 seasons in the major leagues, was in the top three in Adjusted OPS+ in the American League each year from 1977 to 1979. His career Adjusted OPS+ ties him with Rocky Colavito, Tony Gwynn, and Mo Vaughn.

He holds the record for hits in consecutive at bats, with 10. Over the course of three games, Singleton went 4 for 4 twice for the Baltimore Orioles (on April 26 and 27, 1981) and then hit safely in his first two at bats in a third game (on April 28) before finally hitting into a double play in his third at bat against Richard Dotson of the Chicago White Sox.

In 1979, Singleton became the second switch-hitter in the AL to hit 35 homers in one season, after Mickey Mantle. Since that date, Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher have done the same.

Singleton finished second in MVP voting in 1979 and third in 1977. He led the National League in OBP while playing for the Montreal Expos in 1973 and the AL in times on base in 1975. He never led the league in bases on balls, but was second six times (NL 1973, AL 1975, 1977-1979, 1983).

He went from the Expos to the Orioles in one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history. On December 4, 1974, the Expos traded him and pitcher Mike Torrez to the O's in return for Ps Dave McNally and Bill Kirkpatrick and OF Rich Coggins. Singleton and Torrez had a number of excellent seasons after the trade, but McNally retired after only a few games in 1975, Coggins was felled down by disease and hardly played after the trade, and Kirkpatrick never reached the majors. It was actually the second big trade of which Singleton had been a part. After playing for the New York Mets for his first two seasons in 1970 and 1971, he was one of three young players sent to the Expos just before the start of the 1972 season in return for OF Rusty Staub, who was Montreal's biggest star at the time. The other two players in that deal were SS Tim Foli and 1B Mike Jorgensen; none of the three had been regulars until them, but they would all go on to long and successful careers.

The similarity scores method sees Dusty Baker as the most similar player, but Singleton has a much higher Adjusted OPS+.

Singleton won the Roberto Clemente Award for his charitable activities in 1982. Singleton played for the Senadores de San Juan winter league team managed by Roberto Clemente in 1970-71.

Singleton was a Montreal Expos broadcaster from 1985 to 1996 and was a New York Yankees broadcaster from 1997 up until his retirement in 2021, covering games on both the MSG Network and the YES Network.

Singleton's uncle, Harvey Singleton, played in the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts. Singleton is a cousin of former NBA player and Boston Celtics head coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers, and the father of minor league outfielder Justin Singleton.

Notable Achievements

• 3-time AL All-Star (1977, 1979 & 1981)
• NL On-Base Percentage Leader (1973)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 5 (1973 1977-1980)
• 30-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1979)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 3 (1973, 1979 & 1980)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1973)
• Won a World Series with the Baltimore Orioles in 1983

Further Reading

• Ken Singleton (as told to George Vass): "The Game I'll Never Forget", Baseball Digest, January 1989, pp. 29-30. [1]

Related Sites

• Ken Singleton at the SABR Bio Project