Mel Ott

Baseball Player

• Born: March 2, 1909
• Birthplace: Gretna, Louisiana
• Died: November 21, 1958
• Place of death: New Orleans, Louisiana

Sport: Baseball

Early Life

Melvin Thomas Ott was born to Charles and Caroline Ott in Gretna, Louisiana, on March 2, 1909. His father and his uncle Hugh had both played semiprofessional baseball, and together they influenced the boy’s career plans to become a professional catcher. At Gretna High School, Mel won letters in other sports, but baseball was his love. Out of school, when not hunting with his father, he practiced continuously and played sandlot ball.

The Road to Excellence

In 1925, when just sixteen, Mel tried out with the New Orleans Pelicans, a minor-league team. Less than impressed by Mel’s size, the manager sent Mel home without letting him swing a bat. Hugh then sent him to try out with the Patterson Grays, a semiprofessional team owned and managed by millionaire Harry Williams. Mel, sent out to catch a game without benefit of a tryout, drove in the winning runs with a home run and a triple, and Williams immediately took him on.

Playing for the Grays, Mel was soon burning up the league with his strong bat and great “clutch” hitting. Williams, who knew genuine talent when he saw it, arranged a tryout for Mel with the New York Giants. Just as he was about to leave the country, Williams sent Mel a hastily written postcard ordering him to report to legendary Giants manager John McGraw. Mel took the card as a practical joke and did not learn until Williams returned home two months later that he had been in earnest. Mel quickly went to New York, although it was September and the baseball season was almost over.

McGraw, skeptical at first, let Mel try out only because Williams had recommended him. He quickly saw why Mel was highly recommended. Mel lined pitch after pitch into the seats in right field. He was signed shortly thereafter and told to report next season.

McGraw decided the farm system would ruin Mel and kept him with the Giants. Mel, who threw right-handed but batted left-handed, had a unique batting style, and McGraw was afraid that a minor-league manager might tinker with it.

McGraw also converted Mel into an outfielder, believing that catchers should be heftier than Mel was, but adjusting to the change was not easy for the rookie. Mel had heavy, muscular legs and suffered recurring cramps, making him an unpromising base runner. McGraw made Mel learn a new running style under the coaching of Bernie Wefers, who had him sprint between bases, up on his toes with his legs churning to his chest. Mel, with his great dedication to the sport, quickly improved, although he never became more than an adequate runner.

The Emerging Champion

In 1926, Mel’s first season, McGraw intentionally limited his playing experience, keeping him on the dugout bench while he learned the game’s finer points. Mel batted only sixty times, but with a .383 average, revealed his great promise as a batter.

The next year, he played more often, and by 1928, at only nineteen, he became a regular. Soon, he was setting records. In 1929, he homered forty-two times, his career high for a single season. He was spectacular in the Polo Grounds, where the right field foul pole was only 258 feet away. He had fair success in other parks, too, but on his home field, he was intimidating. He won or tied the National League (NL) home-run record six times and for several years held the league record for career home runs with 511.

Mel’s hallmark was his unique batting style. He would crouch back in the batter’s box with his hands and bat held below his waist. Then, as the pitcher wound up, Mel would raise his right foot off the ground, then drop it down and step into the pitch. His great power came from this unorthodox swing. Mel was also a fine outfielder. Although not fast, he had excellent judgment and always got a good jump on fly balls. He also had a deadly arm and was well known for throwing out runners who tried to take an extra base on balls hit off the right field wall.

Continuing the Story

In December of 1941, on the eve of World War II, the Giants named Mel the team’s player-manager. At the Giants’ helm, Mel simply had bad luck. Many of the better Giants went into the service, and, at the end of the war, some others jumped to the newly formed Mexican League.

Although Mel had promising hitters, he was never able to keep good pitchers. Only the great Carl Hubbell is remembered from Mel’s years as manager, and Hubbell’s best years were over. In 1947, his legs and eyesight troubling him, Mel quit playing. In 1948, with the team once more in a slump, Leo Durocher replaced Mel as manager.

Mel went home to Louisiana and started a construction business, but he could not stay away from baseball. He served a two-year stint as a minor-league manager, then became a radio and television broadcaster, first with the Mutual network, then with the Detroit Tigers. In each off-season, he returned home to New Orleans. On November 21, 1958, in New Orleans, he died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

Summary

Mel Ott was one of the most respected and liked players in baseball. His entire career in the majors was spent with the Giants, and his popularity in New York ensured good crowds even when the team was floundering in the cellar. When Mel died, Leo Durocher telephoned Toots Shor, the famous restaurateur, and said that Mel “was the nicest guy that ever lived.” Durocher, hardly the sentimentalist, could have justly added that “Master Melvin” was also one of the finest players in the game.

Bibliography

Conner, Floyd. Baseball’s Most Wanted II: The Top Ten Book of More Bad Hops, Screwball Players, and Other Oddities. Washington, D.C.: Brassey’s, 2003.

Martin, Alfred M. Mel Ott: The Gentle Giant. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2003.

Roberts, Russell. One Hundred Baseball Legends Who Shaped Sports History. San Mateo, Calif.: Bluewood Books, 2003.

Schott, Tom, and Nick Peters. The Giants Encyclopedia. Champaign, Ill.: Sports, 2003.

Stein, Fred. Mel Ott: The Little Giant of Baseball. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1999.