| Ken Singleton | |
|---|---|
 Singleton in 2012 | |
| Right fielder /Designated hitter | |
| Born: (1947-06-10)June 10, 1947 (age 78) Manhattan, New York, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 24, 1970, for the New York Mets | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 25, 1984, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .282 |
| Hits | 2,029 |
| Home runs | 246 |
| Runs batted in | 1,065 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Kenneth Wayne Singleton (born June 10, 1947) is an American former professionalbaseball player and televisionsports commentator. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as anoutfielder anddesignated hitter from1970 to1984, most prominently as a member of theBaltimore Orioles, where he was a three-timeAll-Star player and was a member of the1983 World Series winning team. He also played for theNew York Mets and theMontreal Expos.
In 1982, Singleton was named the recipient of theRoberto Clemente Award and, in 1986, he was inducted into theBaltimore Orioles Hall of Fame.[1] He went on to a long career as a broadcaster, most prominently for theNew York Yankees from 1997 to 2021.
Singleton was born inManhattan, aborough of New York City, and raised in nearbyMount Vernon. He playedbaseball in the Bronx Federation League atMacombs Dam Park, across the street fromYankee Stadium.
Singleton graduated fromMount Vernon High School, where he played baseball and basketball. After graduating in 1965, Singleton enrolled atHofstra University on an athletic scholarship for basketball.[2]
TheNew York Mets chose Singleton in the first round, with the third overall pick, of the January phase of the1967 Major League Baseball draft.[3] He signed with the Mets for a $10,000signing bonus.[2] Singleton made his major league debut with the Mets on June 24,1970, at the age of 23.[4]
On April 5, 1972, the Mets traded Singleton to theMontreal Expos with infieldersTim Foli andMike Jorgensen forRusty Staub.[5] Singleton's best year of the three in Montreal was1973, when he led the league inon-base percentage (one of nine top-ten finishes in that category over the course of his career) and collected 23home runs, 103runs batted in (RBIs) and a .302batting average (his first .300 season).
On December 4, 1974, at theWinter Meetings, theBaltimore Orioles acquired Singleton andMike Torrez from the Expos forDave McNally,Rich Coggins and minor-league right-handed pitcher Bill Kirkpatrick.[6] During his ten years in Baltimore, Singleton played the best baseball of his career as the Orioles won two pennants, in 1979 and 1983, and won the1983 World Series. In1977, he posted a .328 batting average and a .438on-base percentage, both career highs.[4] He finished second in the American League with a 6.9Wins Above Replacement (WAR) behind onlyRod Carew and, his .945On-base plus slugging (OPS) was third behind only Carew andJim Rice.[7]
Singleton finished second toDon Baylor in the American LeagueMost Valuable Player Award voting in1979 after establishing career-highs with 35 home runs and 111 RBI,[4] the former being a franchise record for a switch-hitter in a season until it was surpassed byAnthony Santander in 2024.[8] He accumulated 1,455 hits as an Oriole.[9]
He was described by his manager with the OriolesEarl Weaver as "the kind of hitter who can start a rally by getting on base or end one by driving in the winning run." Being a slow runner was the only deficiency he had as a ballplayer. He stole just 21 bases on 57 attempts in his career.[10] Singleton played in his final major league game on September 25,1984, at the age of 37.[4] The Orioles elected not to renew the option year on his contract three days later on September 28.[11]
In a 15-year major league career, Singleton played in 2,082games, accumulating 2,029hits in 7,189at bats for a .282 career batting average along with 246 home runs, 1,065 runs batted in and anon-base percentage of .388.[4] He had a career .980fielding percentage.[4] Singleton ranks among the Orioles all-time leaders in numerous offensive statistics.[12] In his 10 years as an Oriole, he hit .290 or better in 5 of those years. AnAll-Star in 1977, 1979 and 1981, he won theRoberto Clemente Award in 1982. His highest finish in theMost Valuable Player Award balloting was in 1979, when he finished second toDon Baylor.[13] He was third in 1977, behindAl Cowens and the winner,Rod Carew.[14]
After retiring as a baseball player, Singleton began his broadcasting career as a sportscaster forWJZ-TV in Baltimore in the mid-1980s andTSN in Canada, first as a color commentator on telecasts for theToronto Blue Jays (1985 and 1986) and then as a television color commentator and as a radio play-by-play and color commentator for theMontreal Expos (1987–1996).
From 1997–2021, Singleton was a commentator for theNew York Yankees on theYES Network andWPIX, serving as both acolor commentator and play-by-play announcer, along with partner and play-by-play announcerMichael Kay. He also worked as an announcer for Yankee games on theMSG Network, before the inception of YES and joined the Yankees broadcasting team in 1997.
His trademark calls include "This one is gone" for a home run and "Look out!" for a hard hit foul ball into the crowd or dugout, or when a pitch comes close to/hits a batter. He will also occasionally call a pitch a "chuck and duck" for a ball hit right back toward the pitcher. He also calls a pitch down the heart of the plate a "cookie".
On March 12, 2018, Singleton initially announced that he would be retiring from the broadcasting booth after the 2018 season.[15] However, on August 9, 2018, he announced that he had decided to postpone his retirement until after the 2019 season.[16] During the Yankees-Rays broadcast on YES on September 25, 2019, Singleton announced he would be returning to the Yankees booth for the 2020 season.[17][18] According to theNew York Post, Singleton announced that he would be retiring after the 2021 season.[19] On October 2, 2021 during the penultimate game of the regular season, he officially announced his retirement on air to take effect the following day.[20]
Singleton is a cousin of formerNBA player and formerPhiladelphia 76ers head coachGlenn "Doc" Rivers,[21][22] and the father of former minor league outfielder Justin Singleton.
Singleton grew up in a house in Mount Vernon, New York, once owned by the family of former Brooklyn DodgerRalph Branca.[23] According to broadcast references, Singleton still resides in the Baltimore area.
Singleton sits on the Board of Directors for the Cool Kids Campaign, a non-profit organization based inTowson, Maryland.[24] One of Singleton's roles on the Board of Directors is to host the Celebrity Golf Tournament each June.[25]
In the 1986 edition of theBill James Historical Baseball Abstract, James' wife Susan McCarthy picked Ken Singleton as one of the best-looking players in the 1970s. In a subsequent edition, James wrote that, upon reading the entry, Singleton sent her a thank-you card.[26]
· Baseball Almanac
