Nicknamed "Boy Wonder", Melvin Thomas Ott was born in Gretna, Louisiana on March 2, 1909. At the tender age of 17, he skipped right past the minor leagues to become the starting outfielder for the New York Giants. For 22 years the diminutive (5' 9", 170 lbs.) left-handed swinger belted homer after homer with his unorthodox batting stance, becoming in 1945 the first National League player to hit the 500 home run mark. Ott hit 30 or more home runs in a season eight times, and led the league in that category five times.

In the final six years of his career, Ott served as player-manager of the Giants. He played in three World Series, winning one. Ott ranks ninth on the all-time list of runs scored, eighth in RBI, and sixth in walks. He was elected to the Baseball Hall Of Fame in 1951 with over 87% of the vote. He died in New Orleans in 1958.

Mel Ott - Career Stats

   G   AB    R    H  2B 3B  HR  RBI SB   BB   K .AVG .OBP .SLG
2730 9456 1859 2876 488 72 511 1860 89 1708 896 .304 .414 .533

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