Kingsale was signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent on June 19, 1993.[3] He made his MLB debut with the Orioles on September 3, 1996 as a defensive replacement, becoming the first Aruban to play in the major leagues.[4][5] In the first inning of his 1997 minor league season, he injured his right knee sliding into third base. He returned to the majors briefly in 1998 as a defensive replacement and pinch runner. He got his first major league hit in 1999, a double off C. J. Nitkowski on August 29. He hit a single and stole a base off Hall of FamerPedro Martinez on September 27.[5][6]
On July 10, 2001, he was selected off waivers by the Seattle Mariners. He returned to the majors in September and played in 10 games.[7][8] He played in two games for Seattle in June 2002. On June 14, he was selected off waivers by the San Diego Padres. He played in 89 games for the Padres, his most consistent playing time in MLB.[9][8] He batted 2-for-5 and scored twice in an 18–2 win over the Florida Marlins on August 23, the franchise's largest margin of victory until May 2025.[10][11]
On November 15, 2002, Kingsale was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Mike Rivera[8] and was the Tigers' opening day center fielder. He started regularly for the first month of the 2003 season, batting .241 with no extra base hits through April 25. He played his final MLB game on June 8, batting 0-for-3 but driving in two runs.[12] On September 29, he was granted free agency. He signed with San Diego on November 9 but was released on May 10, 2004.[8]
He returned to the Orioles organization on June 1, 2004[8] and played in their minor league system in 2004 and 2005.[13]
After his American career, Kingsale played in the Dutch Honkbal Hoofdklasse for Almere '90 in 2006 and 2007, then Neptunus from 2008 to 2011.[13] He tore a tendon in his knee in while running to first base in a game in 2007.[14] He retired in early 2012.[15]
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.[20] The team's performance did earn it automatic qualification for the 2026 tournament.
Internationally, he has coached youth in Aruba and had various roles on Netherlands national teams. He was first base coach for the Netherlands' 2023 WBC team.[22] He was named the most talented coach in 2018 by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation after coaching the national under-23 team.[23]
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