Nice tribute. I used to be in advertising and early on I had a boss who had been an ad man in Detroit during the 1950s. He worked with Mel Ott when Mel was an announcer. As a result he would often be hired to read commercials for advertisers during Tigers games. He told me that Ott was quite simply the nicest person he had ever met.
This is an incredible analysis of stats of why Master Melvin was forgotten. After reading a stat about Pete Alonso becoming the Mets player to hit the most HR's in Citi Field, I saw Mel Ott's name again for the most HRs ever by a player at his home stadium. I checked his stats and saw he led the NL in HRs 6 times and wondered why he never won MVP. I asked Google's Bard and did not get answer you provided. Excellent work Bobby! Thank you so much for turning me into a Master Melvin fan. Mel Ott should never be forgotten. What a swing!
He is kind of forgotten And you called it, he had the biggest home field home run advantage of I think anyone ever. Bill james book notes that in like 2003. Maybe someone has taken over..
Interestingly, as a player, Ott had something of a split personality. At home, he had tremendous power numbers, but batted in the .280s. On the road, he had respectable power, but was close to a .320 hitter. He was good enough player to adapt to bigger ball parks and hit for a higher average on the road and hit more like a slugger at home.
@@Tr-fj4hr I know that. He could hit HRs I the Polo Grounds because of the short fence. On the road where he could not hit as many, he was smart enough and good enough to hit for a higher average.
Great Info! The Giants have retired Ott’s #4 but he deserves a statue as well , Hubbell, Bill Terry, McGraw and other NY Giants deserve more respect from current day Giants organization & fans too… oh, coincidentally Ott has a Bay City tie … he managed the Oakland Oaks (PCL) for a few seasons before his tragic passing in Nov, 1958
Do one on Hank Greenberg another forgotten superstar. Lost almost 4 years to military service and was on of the few players to openly accept Jackie when most players either ignored him or abused him verbally/physically. He was also the first Jewish superstar in any sport.
Yes he was a great player, and was already well into his prime and had had his greatest seasons in the 30s .. but the missing war years lowered his career totals he was still a great player. Another note, despite some awesome years, he was basically the 3rd best 1st baseman in his prime years ,,,, Gehrig, Foxx, Greenberg.
Ever since I was a kid I figured he was one of the greats seeing his number on the wall at at&t park and his name with the only other giants in the 500 club. Good to know!
IMO: The Giants have the greatest all time OF with LF Barry Bonds CF Willie Ways RF Mel Ott. All were excellent hitters and fielders. The reason Ott started his MLB career so young was because John McGraw kept Ott on the MLB roster and personally tutored him so minor league managers wouldn’t ruin him.
Hank's career totals equal about 9 full seasons, due to his service during WW2, where he was a Navy pilot. He served 47 months in the Navy. A great player and patriot.
Thanks for the video on Mel Ott, I came to know about him because I spent part of my childhood in Northern California and the SF Giants paid hommage to him in their 1984 Yearbook since that was the year the All Star Game was played at Candlestick Park.
I think another slugger that doesn't get remembered as much is Harmon Killebrew. Outside of Twins Territory he's not talked about that much even though he hit 573 home runs.
True, but Killebrew is also fondly remembered by older Washington baseball fans, and was easily their best player in their last two seasons before decamping to Minneapolis. He led the AL in homers in his first full season in 1959. He took a while to arrive, playing in only 110 or so games his first five seasons, as he was one of the "bonus babies" that could not be sent to the minors for two seasons. (Others in the HOF Kaline, Koufax, Clemente, Catfish Hunter) Once he could, he spent most of the three seasons developing into a star hitter at the Senators farm club in.... Minneapolis. In the late 1960s, Twins-Senators games featured two of the greatest power hitters of the time: Killebrew and Frank Howard.
Great video. I have been an SF Giants fan my whole life and see Ott's retired number on the wall but never knew much about him. Super informative stuff. Keep it up.
Dude, this is a great video and sheds a lot of light. If it makes you feel better, he found a lot of fame in the world of crossword puzzles. He's probably the leading puzzle answer among all players in MLB history.
Thanks so much for the Mel Ott segment. That unorthodox swing puts him almost in a class by himself. The only other player (in modern times) to cock his leg into the swing (that I noticed--sorry, I know you mentioned others) was Daryl Strawberry. But not quite like this!
My Grandfather born in 1926 told me it didn't matter which team in NY you rooted for everybody loved Mel Ott. The Giants moving to San Fran is a big reason people have forgotten. His number hangs in San Fran where he never played.
My mother was from Gretna La. ! She was also a big Mel Ott fan and as far as I know I still have distant cousins living in Gretna . I remember Mel announcing the Detroit Tigers games with Van Patrick.
Ott was a great ballplayer, but he was no Ruth, Gehrig or Foxx. His swing was made for the Polo Grounds (258 foot down the right field line). He hit 323 HRs in the Polo Grounds and 188 on the road.
I actually knew of Ott more than Eddie going into this video because Ott is one of those players who gets referenced in articles when guys break into the bigs at a really young age and play well
I think Early Wynn is a great candidate for one of these videos. He’s a hall of famer who won 300 games and was one of the best strike out pitchers of the 50’s.
Probably the key reason for his obscurity was two guyz named Ruch and Gehrig. This was also the dayof Foxx, Greenberg, Gehrig, Joe D., Johnny Mize, etc.
I just watched another channel run down mel and his swing....his swing was built for the polo grounds and his numbers don't lie....I wish people could understand this
@@outtaherebaseball3205 It pains me to say this, but Christy finished his career with the Cincinnati Reds in 1916, even if it was just for one game. Then he retired as a player but stuck around as manager of the Reds until almost the end of 1918, when he joined the Armed Forces and was shipped to Europe.
I once found a 1940’s team signed NY Giants baseball at a garage sale for 100 bucks. It had Mel Ott and Carl Hubbell among others. Got it certified and sold for $1,500 about 20 years ago. Also found a 1938 World Series Yankees team signed ball at that same garage sale. Lou Gehrig, Red Ruffing, Joe Dimaggio, Bill Dickey, Lefty Gomez and Joe McCarthy. Got that one for 100 dollars also. Kept it for longer but ended up selling it for a lot more money. Sometimes I beat myself over the head for getting rid of a Lou Gehrig autograph. I needed the money.. that same garage sale had what looked to be an official jersey of Pete Rose. He wanted 100 bucks for that also. Should of bought it cuz chances are it was a real game used Jersey. The guy said he had a friend back then that was a ball boy. I knew the signatures were real but I didn’t believe him about the jersey. I bet it was authentic and I should have gotten it. I have never gotten lucky since. Lol.
How would you be expected to remember a player who retired over 75 years ago; died over 60 years ago and whose teams never contended while he managed them? The only pennant contender he played for came after the death of one of great managers of all time John McGraw. And between 1933 and 1947 it was the Yankees that dominated New York headlines.
Um well in 33, 36, and 37 the Giants won the National League the World Series in 33 and at the time the Giants and Yankees were still huge teams in NY comparable to each other and he was the manager for the Giants from 1942 until mid 48 when he retired and Durocher replaced him as manager and had couple of contenders in 42 and 47 and he replaced Bill Terry as Manager who is a Hall of Famer himself Ott’s misfortune was taking over an aging team the needed a restock of young talent which having contenders with the teams he did was an accomplishment he was not a hall of fame manager but a serviceable one so you’re correct only in that the passage of time is what has made us forget Ott some but anyone who follows the history of the game knows of Mel Ott
