Mel Ott

Melvin Thomas "Mel" Ott (March 2, 1909 - November 21, 1958), nicknamed "Master Melvin", was a Major League Baseball right fielder who played his entire career for the New York Giants (1926-1947). Ott was born in Gretna, Louisiana. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. The first National League player to surpass 500 home runs, he was unusually slight of stature for a power hitter, at 5'9" 170lb (77kg).

In his 22-season career, Ott batted .304 with 511 home runs, 1,860 RBIs, 1,859 runs, 2,876 hits, 488 doubles, 72 triples, 89 stolen bases, a .414 on base percentage and a .533 slugging average.

He was a prolific home run hitter. He was 6-time NL home run leader, in 1932, 1934, 1936-38, and 1942. He was both the youngest player to hit 100 home runs and the first National Leaguer to hit 500 home runs. He passed Rogers Hornsby to become the all-time NL home run leader in 1937 and held that title until Willie Mays passed him in 1966. He also holds the major league record for leading his team in home runs, 18 consecutive years from 1928 to 1945. Because of the modern free agency era, this record might never be broken.

Because of his power hitting, he was noted for reaching base via the base on balls. He drew five walks in a game 3 times. He set the National League record for most walks in a doubleheader with six, on October 5, 1929 did it again on April 30, 1944. He tied an MLB record by drawing a walk in 7 consecutive plate appearances (June 16 through 18, 1943). He also led the NL in walks 6 times in 1929, 1931-33, 1937 and 1942. He twice scored six runs in a game, on August 4, 1934 and on April 30, 1944. He is still the youngest major leaguer to ever hit for the cycle, which happened on (May 16, 1929). Ott was the first NL player to post eight consecutive 100-RBI seasons, and only Willie Mays, Sammy Sosa, Chipper Jones, and Albert Pujols have since joined him.

He used a batting style that was then considered unorthodox, lifting his forward (right) foot prior to impact. This style helped with his power-hitting. More recent players who used a similar style include Harold Baines and Kirby Puckett, as well as the Japanese home run king, Sadaharu Oh.

In 1943, all of his 18 home runs came at home; only two others ever had a greater number of all-homefield home runs. Of Ott's 511 career home runs, 323 of them, or 63 percent, came at home. (Home Run Handbook, John Tattersall, 1975). Because of this, his home run record historically has been down played suggesting that a 257-foot (78m) foul line at the Polo Grounds resulted in higher numbers at home.

Though there may be reason to believe that he was a better hitter than his record holds due to differences in National League and American League ball specifications ("All too forgOtten" Steve Treder, October 2, 2007). Those differences are considered the most outstanding in the history of the game and made it considerably harder for National League hitters to achieve home runs.

During the prime of Ott's career, 11 seasons from 1931 to 1941, the American League home runs averaged 21% higher and peaked at 41% higher than the National League for every year of this period. Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx, contemporaries, and both American League players, were the only batters to surpass Ott's record during this time.


Postseason Play

He played in the World Series in 1933, 1936 and 1937, winning in 1933.

He hit two home runs during the 1933 series. In game 1, he had four hits, including a two-run home run in the first inning. In game 5, he drove in the series-winning run with two outs in the top of the 10th, driving a pitch into the center-field bleachers.

In the 1936 World Series, Ott had 7 hits and 1 home run. In 1937, he had 4 hits and 1 home run.

He was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951 with 87% of the vote. His number "4" was also retired by the Giants in 1949, and it is posted on the facade of the upper deck in the left field corner of AT&T Park.

He was a 12-time M.L. All-Star, from 1934 to 1945. He was also named four times to the Major League All-Star Teams of The Sporting News, in 1934-36 and in 1938. He is one of only six NL players to spend a 20+ year career with one team (Cap Anson, Stan Musial, Willie Stargell, Tony Gwynn, and Craig Biggio being the others). In 1999, he ranked number 42 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and he was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Ott died in an auto accident in New Orleans in 1958; he was interred in Metairie Cemetery. Ott died in a similar manner to two other N.Y. Giant Hall of Famers: Frankie Frisch in 1973 and Carl Hubbell in 1988. Ott is remembered in his hometown of Gretna, where a park is named in his honor. In the 1989 film, Field of Dreams, Ott was one of several deceased players portrayed in farmer Ray Kinsella's Iowa cornfield. In 2006, Ott was featured on a U.S. postage stamp, as one of a block of four honoring "Baseball Sluggers" - the others being Mickey Mantle, Hank Greenberg, and Roy Campanella. In announcing the stamps, the U.S. Postal Service stated, "Remembered as powerful hitters who wowed fans with awesome and often record-breaking home runs, these four men were also versatile players who helped to lead their teams to victory and set impressive standards for subsequent generations". Ott is also remembered in the name of the Little League of Amherst, New York. The Mel Ott Little League began in 1959, named for the recently deceased superstar.