Gene Kingsale
Gene Kingsale | |||||||||||||||
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Outfielder | |||||||||||||||
Born: Solito, Aruba | August 20, 1976|||||||||||||||
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||
MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
September 3, 1996, for the Baltimore Orioles | |||||||||||||||
Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||
June 8, 2003, for the Detroit Tigers | |||||||||||||||
MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
Batting average | .251 | ||||||||||||||
Home runs | 3 | ||||||||||||||
Runs batted in | 53 | ||||||||||||||
Teams | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Eugene Humphrey Kingsale (born August 20, 1976) is a Dutch-Aruban former Major League Baseball player with the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, and Detroit Tigers from 1996 until 2003. At six-foot-three, and his weight ranging from 170 to 194 pounds, Kingsale was known in his playing days as a slick fielding, speedy switch-hitter who threw right-handed.
Following his time in U.S. organized baseball, Kingsale played extensively for the Netherlands national team in international competition, including the World Cup of Baseball, the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece as well as the World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournaments in 2006 and 2009. Since 2008, he has played for perennial champions Neptunus Rotterdam in the Dutch Hoofdklasse, as well as being a key member of the Dutch national team, which played in Beijing Olympics.
Kingsale has most recently participated in professional baseball on the coaching side, serving as hitting coach for the Texas Rangers' Dominican Summer League DSL Rangers Red team in 2023 and as first base coach for the Netherlands' 2023 WBC team.[citation needed]
Major League Baseball Transactions[edit]
Kingsale was signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent on June 19, 1993. He made his debut with the Orioles on September 3, 1996. On July 10, 2001, he was selected off waivers by the Seattle Mariners. On June 14, 2002, he was selected off waivers by the San Diego Padres. On November 15, 2002, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Mike Rivera and became the Tigers' opening day center fielder. On September 29, 2003, he was granted free agency and signed with the San Diego Padres on November 9 of that year. Kingsale only had 134 hits in the major leagues but did collect a single off Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez on September 27, 1999.
World Baseball Classic[edit]
In the qualifying round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Kingsale drove in the tying run and scored the winning run in the 11th inning to lead the Netherlands to a 2–1 win over the Dominican Republic.
In 2023, Kingsale served as first base coach for the Netherlands WBC team that went 2-2 and did not advance out of Pool A. The team's performance did earn it automatic qualification for the 2026 tournament.
Career statistics[edit]
During Kingsale's seven major league seasons, he played in 211 games with 533 career at bats. He scored 65 runs, had 134 hits with three home runs and 53 RBI. He had a career .251 batting average and had 15 stolen bases. In 2005, he played for the Double-A Bowie Baysox and Triple-A Ottawa Lynx in the Orioles' farm system.
External links[edit]
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Neptunus Honkbal
- 1976 births
- 2006 World Baseball Classic players
- 2009 World Baseball Classic players
- Aberdeen IronBirds players
- Aruban expatriate baseball players in the United States
- Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Baltimore Orioles players
- Bluefield Orioles players
- Bowie Baysox players
- Gulf Coast Orioles players
- Detroit Tigers players
- Dutch people of Aruban descent
- Dutch expatriate baseball players in Canada
- Frederick Keys players
- Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau
- Living people
- Major League Baseball outfielders
- Major League Baseball players from Aruba
- Olympic baseball players for the Netherlands
- Ottawa Lynx players
- Portland Beavers players
- Rochester Red Wings players
- San Diego Padres players
- Seattle Mariners players
- Tacoma Rainiers players
- Toledo Mud Hens players
- Aruban people of African descent