Mel Ott: The Little Giant of Baseball

Melvin Thomas Ott was smaller than most home run sluggers, at 5’9＂, 170 pounds, but he could sure hit ’em as far as the big boys. Over a 22-year playing career with the New York Giants, Ott slapped 511 homers, then a National League record. At the tender age of 20, he erupted on the scene with career highs of 42 home runs and 152 RBIs. He went on to win or share six home run titles, appear in 11 All-Star Games and play in three World Series. It was a foregone conclusion when Ott was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.

This is the first-ever biography of baseball’s renowned ＂nice guy.＂ Every aspect of his remarkable baseball career is covered, from his jump to the big leagues at age 17 to his tragic death at age 49. Ott’s managerial and broadcasting careers are also discussed.

The late Fred Stein was a retired federal official and environmental consultant and a member of the Society for American Baseball Research since 1976. He wrote written three books on the Giants and contributed articles to USA Today Baseball Weekly and the SABR publications. A native New Yorker, he lived in Springfield, Virginia.