Melvin Thomas Ott (March 2, 1909 – November 21, 1958), nicknamed "Master Melvin", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants, from 1926 through 1947.
He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Though unusually slight in stature for a power hitter, at 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m), 170 pounds (77 kg), Ott led the National League in home runs a then-record six times. He was an All-Star for 11 consecutive seasons, and was the first National League player to surpass 500 career home runs.
Ott was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.
Ott was born in Gretna, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. He was a second cousin of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Baton Rouge, Stanley Joseph Ott. Despite his average height, he quickly established himself as a gifted athlete, especially in baseball. During high school, he played on a semi-pro team three or four days a week. He already showed considerable power at a young age and was getting paid for it. His team had a tradition of passing the hat whenever a player hit a home run that figured in a victory, meaning Ott was taking home money for playing baseball as early as 14.
Despite his power, Ott's hometown minor league team, the New Orleans Pelicans, refused to sign him because of concerns about his size. He then found a job at a lumber company in Patterson, near Morgan City, where he became a sensation on the company baseball team. Company owner Henry Williams was particularly impressed with Ott. While visiting New York, he suggested that Giants manager John McGraw give him a tryout. Ott was skeptical at first, so Williams bought Ott a train ticket to New York.
After a brief college career at the University of Alabama in 1924, Ott arrived in New York in early September. He quickly impressed observers with his hitting, especially McGraw, who predicted that he would be "one of the greatest lefthand hitters the National League has ever seen." He formally signed Ott to a contract in January 1926.
Ott had originally been a catcher, but McGraw concluded that Ott was too small to be a major league catcher and converted him into an outfielder. On July 27 of the 1927 season, Ott recorded his first career home run, doing so on a line drive to center field for an inside-the-park home run. After two years as a part-time player, he became the regular right fielder in 1929 at the age of 20. He didn't disappoint, hitting .328 in 150 games while setting career highs in home runs (42) and RBI (151)—both records for players who were 20 years old or younger at the start of the season. Ott's 1929 batting average of .328 is his second highest season average for a full-time player trailing only his 1930 campaign with a .349 average. By the time Ott reached the age of 25, he had accumulated 1,249 hits, the second highest total for a 25-year-old in MLB history, behind only Ty Cobb (1,433).
Ott was a six-time NL home run leader, in 1932, 1934, 1936–1938, and 1942. From 1928 through 1945, he led the New York Giants in home runs. This 18-season consecutive dominance is a record; no other player has ever led his team in more consecutive years in a single Triple Crown category. He was both the youngest player to hit 100 home runs and the first National Leaguer to hit 500 home runs. He passed Rogers Hornsby to become the all-time NL home run leader in 1937 and held that title until Willie Mays passed him in 1966.
Ott was noted for reaching base via the walk. He drew five walks in a game four times, which remains a major league record. He set the National League record for most walks in a doubleheader, with six, on October 5, 1929, and did it again on April 30, 1944. He tied an MLB record by drawing a walk in seven consecutive plate appearances (June 16–18, 1943). He also led the NL in walks six times: in 1929, 1931–1933, 1937, and 1942.
He twice scored six runs in a game, on August 4, 1934, and on April 30, 1944. He is the only player with multiple 6-run games in MLB history. He is the youngest major leaguer to ever hit for the cycle. Ott was the first NL player to post eight consecutive 100-RBI seasons, and only Willie Mays, Sammy Sosa, Chipper Jones, and Albert Pujols have since joined him.
He used a batting style that was then considered unorthodox, lifting his forward (right) foot prior to impact. When McGraw first saw Ott's style, he called it "the most natural swing I've seen in years. Alvin Dark said that Ott "lifted his lead foot right off the ground like he was getting ready to kick at a dog". This style helped him hit for power. More recent players who used a similar style include Harold Baines and Kirby Puckett, as well as the Japanese home run king, Sadaharu Oh.
In 1943, all of his 18 home runs came at home; only two other players ever had a greater number of all-homefield home runs. Of Ott's 511 career home runs, 323 of them, or 63%, came at home. He had seven seasons where he hit at least twenty home runs at the Polo Grounds, with the most being 24 in the 1932 season. Because of this, his home run record historically has been downplayed, suggesting that a 257-foot (78 m) foul line at the Polo Grounds resulted in higher numbers at home. Sportswriters often jokingly referred to him as the master of the "Chinese home run" as such short homers were called at the time; Ott would often respond by noting that if it was so easy to inflate his homer totals by hitting over that fence, all other hitters in the league would be doing it.
As a balance, the Polo Grounds had the deepest power alleys in baseball. Also, Ott hit more career home runs in foreign stadiums than any other National League hitter at the time of his retirement. In some of his better seasons, he hit more homers on the road than in the Polo Grounds.
There may be reason to believe that he was a better hitter than his record suggests because of differences in National League and American League ball specifications. Those differences are considered the greatest in the history of the game and made it considerably harder for National League hitters to achieve home runs.
Ott was also a skilled fielder. He was a master at playing balls that bounced off the fences at the Polo Grounds, allowing him to garner 26 assists in 1929, his first full season as a full-time player. He would never even approach that figure again, as baserunners quickly realized it was far too risky to run on balls hit in Ott's direction.
During the prime of Ott's career, 11 seasons from 1931 to 1941, American League batters averaged 21% more home runs—peaking at 41% more home runs—than their National League counterparts. Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx, contemporaries, and both American League players, were the only batters to surpass Ott's record during this time.
Ott played in the World Series in 1933, 1936, and 1937, winning in 1933. He hit two home runs during the 1933 World Series. In Game 1, he had four hits, including a two-run home run in the first inning. In Game 5, he drove in the series-winning run with two outs in the top of the 10th, driving a pitch into the center-field bleachers. In the 1936 World Series, Ott had seven hits and one home run. In 1937, he had four hits and one home run. Playing in 16 World Series games, Ott batted .295 (18-for-61) with eight runs, four home runs and 10 RBI.
In his 22-season career, Ott batted .304 with 511 home runs, 1,860 RBI, 1,859 runs, 2,876 hits, 488 doubles, 72 triples, 89 stolen bases, 1,708 BB, .414 on-base percentage and a .533 slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a .974 fielding percentage. He hit better than .300 10 times in his major league career. At the time of his retirement, he had hit 200 more home runs than the next-highest National Leaguer.