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 as a slick fielding, speedy switch-hitter.
| Gene Kingsale | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kingsale with Neptunus in 2009 | |||||||||||||||
| Outfielder | |||||||||||||||
| Born: August 20, 1976 Solito, Aruba | |||||||||||||||
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 | ||||||||||||||
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Following his time in professional baseball in the United States, Kingsale played extensively for the Netherlands national team in international competitions, including the World Cup of Baseball, the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, and World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournaments in 2006 and 2009. He played for perennial champions Neptunus Rotterdam in the Dutch Hoofdklasse from 2008 to 2011.[1]
Kingsale has most recently participated in professional baseball on the coaching side, serving as hitting coach for the Texas Rangers' Dominican Summer League (DSL) team in 2024[2] and as first base coach for the Netherlands' 2023 WBC team.[3]
Major League Baseball
editKingsale 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 had 134 hits in the major leagues including a single off Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez on September 27, 1999.
In 2005, he played for the Double-A Bowie Baysox and Triple-A Ottawa Lynx in the Orioles' farm system.
World Baseball Classic
editIn 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.
Kingsale was the first base coach for the Netherlands in the 2023 WBC, as the team went 2-2 and did not advance out of Pool A.[4] The team's performance did earn it automatic qualification for the 2026 tournament.
Career statistics
editDuring 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.
References
edit- ^ "Gene Kingsale Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ Heath (January 23, 2024). "Texas Rangers Announce 2024 Minor League Coaching Staff". The Prospect Times. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ Tallarini, Matt (January 12, 2023). "WBC: Netherlands Announces Staff, 14 Players For World Baseball Classic - World Baseball Network". World Baseball Network - Baseball without Borders. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ Visser, Seb (February 10, 2023). "Meulens gaat met uitgebalanceerd team vol sterren en talent naar World Baseball Classic – HonkbalSoftbal.nl". honkbalsoftbal.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved August 9, 2024.
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Neptunus Honkbal