Ken Singleton: Early 1970's Mets Outfielder (1970 - 1971)

Kenneth Wayne Singleton was born June 10, 1947, in East Harlem New York City. His father Joseph worked at the Genral Post Office across from Madison Square Garden & his mother Lucille worked for an insurance company. Ken also has a younger brother.

The family moved to Mt. Vernon, New York, in the same house where Brooklyn Dodger pitcher Ralph Branca once lived. 

In high school Singleton played baseball, football & basketball. He went to Hofstra University, on a basketball scholarship & continued to play baseball which was his first love. 

In 1967 Ken was drafted by the New York Mets as a first-round pick at age 19. 

In 1968 he was highly touted, batting .316 with the A ball Visalia getting promoted to AAA Jacksonville in August. 

In 1969, as the Mets were winning the World Series, Singleton was batting .309 at AA Memphis. He hit a HR in the clinching game of the Texas League pennant. Memphis went on win the Texas League Championship.

In 1970 at AAA Tidewater, he was leading the International League in batting (.388) HRs (17) & on base % (.513) getting called up to the Mets on June 23rd.

MLB Debut: On June 24th, Singleton made his MLB debut, starting in left field going 0-4 in a win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Two games later he hit his first career HR coming off former Met prospect Steve Renko in Montreal’s Jary Park in a loss to the Expos. 

Singleton went on a six-game hitting streak. In mid-July he hit HRs in two of three games in a series with the Cardinals at Shea driving in five runs.

On July 31st, he hit his fifth HR of the season coming off an inning where the Mets hit three HR off the Padres Pat Dobson.

From late August thru the end of the season he was used in more of a pinch-hitting role.

The reigning champion Mets were in the pennant race until mid-September just a half game out of first, but they went 6-10 thru the end of the season, finishing third.

In 1970, Ken played in 69 games batting .263 with 5 HRs 8 doubles 26 RBIs &22 runs scored. He posted a good .361 on base % & .740 OPS.


1971: In 1971 the 23-year-old Singleton became the Mets main right fielder playing alongside Tommie Agee & Cleon Jones. 

On April 23rd at Wrigley Field, Singleton hit his first HR of the season. In the top of the 12th inning with two men on & two outs in a 6-6 tie with the Cubs, Singleton singled off Ron Tompkins bring in what was the winning run of the 7-6 win.

Singleton struggled thru May & early June not getting over .200 until June 10th. From there he began to hit better, raising his average up sixty points by the end of the month, hitting four HRs from mid-June to the July 1st. 

Walk Off Hit: On June 13th, Singleton hit a two run HR off the Giants Juan Marichal, collecting two hits as a game with the Giants went to extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th, his sac fly off Steve Hamilton brought in Bud Harrelson with the walk off game winner. 

On June 18th, Ken hit a two run HR off the Phillies Ken Reynolds, the only runs scored in Gary Gentry's two hit shutout victory. 

On June 19th, the Mets & Phillies went to into extra innings tied 6-6 at Shea Stadium. In the top of the 14th the Phils took the lead, then in the bottom of the 14th Singleton tied the game back up with a HR off Bill Wilson. The Mets won it on Donn Clendenon's walk off HR in the 15th.

Multi- Four RBI Game: In the first game of a June 20th double header, Singleton hit a three HR off Phillies veteran Jim Bunning. In the bottom of the 11th, he added an RBI double off Woodie Fryman for a season high four RBI game, but the Mets came up short in a 9-7 loss.

In the month of July, he drove in just three runs & did not hit another HR until August 6th, coming in a 9-1 win over the Braves. 

On August 18th, in a 2-2 tie with the Dodgers in Los Angeles Singleton singled off Jim Brewer in the top of the 10th inning scoring Tommie Agee in what was the games winning run.

He had a strong September hitting six HRs while driving in 18 runs. 

On September 10th & 11th, he collected back-to-back three hit games. In the first game he collected a pair of RBIs & then hit a two run HR off Manny Munoz the next game in consecutive wins over the Phillies. That week in a four-game span, he drove in seven runs collecting seven hits. 

Multi HR Game: On September 30th, in the last game of the season Singleton went 3-4 against the St. Louis Cardinals, hitting two HRs off David Patterson driving in a total of four runs in the Mets 6-1 victory. The win helped Tom Seaver earn his 20th win of the season. 

During the season Singleton had seven different three hit games.

For the 1971 season, Singleton batted .245 with 73 hits five doubles 13 HRs & 46 RBIs in 115 games played. He led the team in base percentage (.374) walks (61) & intentional walks (9). He struck out 64 times with a .766 OPS. 

Although he showed great promise for the future, the Mets had a chance to acquire Rusty Staub from the Montreal Expos & Singleton was the main chip in getting him. 

Just as the 1972 season was to begin, the Mets lost their manager Gil Hodges to a tragic heart attack. The deal had already been made as Singleton was sent to Montreal along with Tim Foli & Mike Jorgenson for Rusty Staub.

Post Mets Career- Expos: In 1972 Singleton became the Expos everyday outfielder batting .274 with 14 HRs & 50 RBIs. 

Allergy Issues: In June he discovered he was allergic to the Expos wool uniform & had to switch to a custom-made double-knit version.

Trivia: Singleton was roommates with Tim Foli whom he had been roomies with in the Mets minor leagues as well.

By 1973 Singleton was one of the league's top players, leading the NL in on base percentage (.426) & in games played (162). Singleton drew 123 walks (2nd most in the NL) hit 23 HRs & batted .302 (8th in the NL). He scored 100 runs & was ninth in the league's MVP voting.

He drove in 103 runs (5th in the NL) breaking Rusty Staub's old franchise record, setting an Expo RBI mark that would last for another decade.  

In 1974, his numbers fell off with just 9 HRs & 74 RBIs batting .276, posting a .385 on base %. In December 1974 the Expos traded him, along with pitcher Mike Torrez to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Rich Coggins, Dave McNally & Bill Kirkpatrick.

Orioles Career: Singleton arrived in Baltimore just after the Orioles dominating championship years (1969-1974) winners of three straight AL pennants, a World Series title & five AL East titles. He also made three All Star teams (1977-1979 & 1981).

Trivia: In 1977 he was the first player to hit a HR into the centerfield bleachers at the AL New York ballpark. No other player would accomplish tat feat for another ten years.

Singleton would play for the Orioles for ten years, becoming one their top steady players, playing in 1146 games hitting 182 HRs with 766 RBIs. He would help them win another pennant & lead the team to the Cal Ripken era. Singleton hit over .290 five times & had four 20 plus HR seasons to go along with three 99 plus RBI seasons.

1979 Pennant Season: In 1979 he had a monster year, leading the Orioles to the A.L. Pennant. They would fall one game short of a World Series title losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

Singleton led the AL in intentional walks & was second in the MVP voting. He hit 35 HRs with 111 RBIs batting .295 with 29 doubles, a .405 on base % & .938 OPS. 

1979 Post Season- ALCS: In the ALCS win over the California Angels, he had a big series hitting .375 collecting six hits in the final three games. In the clinching Game #4, he went 3-4 with a sac fly RBI & a 7th inning RBI double off Dave Frost in the 8-0 Scott McGregor shut out.

1979 World Series: He continued to hit well in the seven-game loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, leading all Orioles hitters with ten hits, batting .357 with two RBIs. 

In the Game #3 win in Pittsburgh, he had an RBI single off Enrique Romo in the Orioles four run 4th inning. In the Game #4 win, he collected three hits including an RBI single off Jim Bibby. 

The O's went up three games to one but were held to just two runs in the next three games, as the Pirates won the Championship. Singleton also had a three-hit game in the Game #6 loss.

After the Pennant: In 1980 Ken batted .304 hitting over .300 for the fourth time. He also drove in 100 runs for the second straight season & the third time in his career. 

Record Setter: That year he & teammate Eddie Murray became the first switch hitting teammates to drive in over 100 runs.

In 1981 from April 26th - April 28th, he set a record by gathering ten hits in ten straight at bats. On April 26 he went 4-4 in a loss to Boston. The next game he went 4-4 in a win over the White Sox. On April 28th he singled off the Sox Richard Dotson in his first at bat & then set the record with a HR off Dotson to lead off the 3rd inning.

In that strike shortened 1981 season he won a Player of the Month Award & hit a HR off Tom Seaver in the All-Star Game. His manager Earl Weaver called him the most intelligent hitter he's ever seen. Overall, on the year he batted .278 with 13 HRs & 49 RBIs in 103 games.

1983 Orioles Championship season: By now Ken was 34 years old in his 14th season. Singleton became the teams DH playing in 150 games in that role. He hit .276 with 18 HRs with 21 doubles 99 walks & 84 RBIs. He led the AL in intentional passes once again. This was Orioles team led by Cal Ripken Jr. & Eddie Murray.

1983 Post Season: Ken hit .250 in the ALCS & only got one at bat in the World Series because the designated hitter was not yet used in World Series play.

Career Stats: He retired after the 1984 season with a lifetime.282 average collecting 2029 hits with 246 HRs 317 doubles 25 triples 1065 RBIs & 985 runs scored. He struck out 1246 times drew 1263 walks with a .388 on base % & .824 OPS playing in 2082 games. 

Trivia: He never led the league in walks, he was second in that category six times. 

Retirement& Broadcasting Career: After his playing days, he began a career as a long-time broadcaster. 

Ken started with the Toronto Blue Jays (1985-1986). He was then both a TV & radio guy with the Montreal Expos for over a decade (1987-1996). 

In 1997 he then moved to the YES Network in its first year. He remained there for 24 seasons retiring after the 2021 season.

Family: Ken married his first wife Collette (Saint-Jacques) in 1974. She was a Quebec native & the couple lived there while Ken was an Expo. Together they have two children.

In 1991 he married his second wife Suzanne (Molino) together they have two children. They reside in the Baltimore area.

Ken is cousin of former NBA player & coach Glen "Doc" Rivers.