How much is Mel Ott worth?
| Net Worth: | $1.5 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Baseball Player |
| Date of Birth: | March 2, 1909 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.75 m |
About Mel Ott
Ott’s hometown minor league team, the New Orleans Pelicans, declined to sign him despite his strength due to worries about his size. He next obtained employment at a lumber mill in Patterson, close to Morgan City, where he quickly rose to fame on the baseball team. Henry Williams, the business’s owner, was very impressed with Ott.
Ott was originally a catcher, but McGraw decided that Ott was too short to play catcher in the major leagues and switched him to outfield. At the age of 19, he transitioned from being a part-time player for two years to being the main right fielder in 1929.
- Born: March 2, 1909
- Died: Nov. 21, 1958
- Hometown: Gretna, La.
- Height: 5-9
- Weight: 170 pounds
- Bats: Left
- Throws: Right
- Family: Wife, Mildred; daughters Barbara and Lyn
- Primary position: Right fielder
Ott batted.304 throughout the course of his 22-year career, totaling 511 home runs, 1,860 RBIs, 1,859 runs, 2,876 hits, 488 doubles, 72 triples, 89 stolen bases, 1,708 walks, a.414 on-base percentage, and a.533 slugging average. He had a.974 fielding percentage on defense. In his major league career, he batted higher than.300 ten times. He had 200 more home runs than the next highest National Leaguer at the time of his retirement.
He threw with his right hand and batted with his left. Ott, who stood at 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) and weighed 170 pounds (77 kg) despite being relatively small for a power hitter, led the National League in home runs six times, a record at the time. He was an All-Star for 11 straight years and the first player in the National League to hit 500 home runs in a season.
Ott participated in the 1933, 1936, and 1937 World Series, winning that year. During the 1933 series, he hit two home runs. He recorded four hits in Game 1, including a two-run home run in the opening inning. With two outs in the top of the 10th inning of Game 5, he scored the game-winning run by hitting a pitch into the stands in center field. Ott collected seven hits and one home run in the 1936 World Series. He recorded 4 hits and 1 home run in 1937. Ott batted.295 (18-for-61) with eight runs, four home runs, and ten RBI while participating in 16 World Series games.
ahead of the bigs:
played on his high school team’s two games each week and on other days for a semi-pro team. He joined the semi-pro team of a timber firm when he was 16 and quickly rose to the top. Ott was given a tryout in September 1925 after company owner persuaded New York Giants manager John McGraw to do so.
Ott later received a $400 incentive from McGraw, but he was informed he would have to go from catcher to the outfield because he was just 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds. McGraw decided against sending Ott to the lower levels out of concern that a manager there may have a negative impact on him. Instead, he decided to retain Ott near by.
Ott took over as the starter the next season at the age of 19 after Ross Youngs, the Giants’ regular right fielder, passed away in November 1927 at the age of 30 from kidney disease.
Professional Highlights:
played for the New York Giants throughout his whole 22-year big league career. Only six NL players have spent more than 20 years playing with the same team, including him (Cap Anson, Stan Musial, Craig Biggio, Willie Stargell, Chipper Jones).
finished his career with a total of 2,876 hits, a.414 on-base percentage, 511 home runs, 1,860 RBIs, 1,850 runs, and a.533 slugging average.
He batted with power despite being tall (5-9, 170), though. From 1928 to 1945, he set a record by leading the Giants in home runs for 18 straight seasons. No other athlete has ever led his team for that long in a single Triple Crown category.
He hit 100 home runs at the age of 24, breaking the record, and became the first player in the National League to reach 500 in his career. Until Willie Mays surpassed him in 1966, he held the National League record for the most home runs (511).
Ott’s detractors point out that 323 of his home runs (or 63 percent) were hit at the Polo Grounds, his home field, which had a low (257-foot) foul line. Ott hit 18 home runs in 1943, and he hit them all at Polo Grounds.
Ott was renowned for drawing walks as well. Three times in a game, he got five walks. He recorded the most walks in a doubleheader in the National League on October 5, 1929, with six. This record was matched by him in 1944, 15 years later. drew a walk in seven straight plate appearances to tie a major league record (June 16-18, 1943). Six seasons in a row, Ott topped the National League in walks (1929, 1931-33, 1937 and 1942).
was selected to the National League All-Star team 12 times in a row between 1934 and 1945.
is the youngest major leaguer to ever record a cycle, which he did on May 16, 1929, when he was just 20 years old.
was the first player in the National League and one of only five players to have have eight straight seasons with 100 RBIs (since joined by Mays, Sammy Sosa, Jones and Albert Pujols).
played for the Giants in three World Series (1933, 1936, and 1937). His four hits, including a home run in Game 1, helped the Giants win the pennant in 1933. He also hit a home drive in the 10th inning of the decisive Game 5 to score the game’s winning run.
following retirement:
With 87 percent of the vote in 1951, Ott was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Mel Ott Award is given by the National League to its yearly home run champion.
Although he never played at AT&T Park in San Francisco, the Giants retired his No. 4 and had it placed on the façade of the upper deck in 1949.
was the Giants’ manager for seven seasons, from 1942 to 1948. When the Giants were in fourth place in July 1948, Ott was sacked and replaced with Leo Durocher, the manager of the nearby Brooklyn Dodgers. Third place in 1942 was the Giants’ finest performance under Ott. On June 9, 1946, he made history by being the first manager to be dismissed from both games of a doubleheader. But it was Ott’s laid-back management style that inspired Durocher to say, “Nice guys finish last.” when he was still in charge of the Dodgers.
Ott began working in the broadcast booth on the Mutual radio network in 1955 after finishing his managerial position. He joined Van Patrick in calling Detroit Tigers games on radio and television for the following three seasons.
Ott and his wife Mildred were hurt in a car accident in New Orleans in 1958. Mel passed away a week later at age 49, but his wife lived.
On The Sporting News’ selection of the 100 greatest baseball players in 1999, Ott came in at number 42.
