Mel Ott

Outfielder · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1926-1947)

Mel Ott was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1926 to 1947 for the New York Giants, a span of 22 seasons. In 2,730 career games, he hit .304 with 2,876 hits, 511 home runs, and 1,860 RBI. Mel Ott was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951 and was a 12-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 64,873.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

⭐ Hall of Fame 1951
AVG .304
HR 511
RBI 1,860
H 2,876
OPS .947
PIV 64,873
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 170 lb
Born
3/2/1909 in Gretna, LA, USA
Died
11/21/1958 in New Orleans, LA, USA
MLB Debut
1926-04-27
Last Game
1947-07-11
Hall of Fame
Inducted 1951 (BBWAA)
Awards
12× All-Star

Full name: Melvin Thomas Ott

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Career Batting Statistics

Mel Ott — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2,730 9,456 1,859 2,876 488 72 511 1,860 89 1,708 896 .304 .414 .533 .947 64,873

Career AVG .304 vs. league average .273 across their career seasons — +11.5% above league average.

Career OBP .414 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — +22.3% above league average.

Career SLG .533 vs. league average .385 across their career seasons — +38.3% above league average.

Career OPS .947 vs. league average .724 across their career seasons — +30.9% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Mel Ott Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1926 NY1 NL 35 60 7 23 2 0 0 4 1 1 9 .383 .279 (+37%) .345 (+14%) .390 (+7%) .735 (+10%) 101.2
1927 NY1 NL 82 163 23 46 7 3 1 19 2 13 9 .282 .282 (avg) .344 (-3%) .392 (-3%) .736 (-3%) -89.7
1928 NY1 NL 124 435 69 140 26 4 18 77 3 52 36 .322 .280 (+15%) .342 (+16%) .395 (+33%) .737 (+25%) 2223.5
1929 NY1 NL 150 545 138 179 37 2 42 151 6 113 38 .328 .289 (+14%) .353 (+27%) .415 (+53%) .769 (+41%) 5256.2
1930 NY1 NL 148 521 122 182 34 5 25 119 9 103 35 .349 .293 (+19%) .354 (+29%) .429 (+34%) .784 (+32%) 4146.0
1931 NY1 NL 138 497 104 145 23 8 29 115 10 80 44 .292 .276 (+6%) .338 (+16%) .388 (+40%) .726 (+29%) 3039.8
1932 NY1 NL 154 566 119 180 30 8 38 123 6 100 39 .318 .275 (+16%) .335 (+26%) .391 (+53%) .726 (+41%) 5100.1
1933 NY1 NL 152 580 98 164 36 1 23 103 1 75 48 .283 .270 (+5%) .329 (+11%) .377 (+24%) .707 (+18%) 2221.5
1934 NY1 NL 153 582 119 190 29 10 35 135 0 85 43 .326 .278 (+17%) .340 (+22%) .392 (+50%) .733 (+37%) 4629.9
1935 NY1 NL 152 593 113 191 33 6 31 114 7 82 58 .322 .279 (+15%) .342 (+19%) .399 (+39%) .742 (+30%) 3832.2
1936 NY1 NL 150 534 120 175 28 6 33 135 6 111 41 .328 .283 (+15%) .349 (+28%) .404 (+46%) .753 (+37%) 4703.2
1937 NY1 NL 151 545 99 160 28 2 31 95 7 102 69 .294 .276 (+6%) .342 (+19%) .398 (+31%) .740 (+26%) 3271.5
1938 NY1 NL 150 527 116 164 23 6 36 116 2 118 47 .311 .272 (+14%) .341 (+29%) .392 (+48%) .734 (+39%) 4831.3
1939 NY1 NL 125 396 85 122 23 2 27 80 2 100 50 .308 .274 (+12%) .342 (+31%) .393 (+48%) .735 (+40%) 3626.6
1940 NY1 NL 151 536 89 155 27 3 19 79 6 100 50 .289 .267 (+8%) .335 (+21%) .387 (+18%) .722 (+19%) 2582.0
1941 NY1 NL 148 525 89 150 29 0 27 90 5 100 68 .286 .262 (+9%) .332 (+21%) .373 (+33%) .705 (+27%) 3225.3
1942 NY1 NL 152 549 118 162 21 0 30 93 6 109 61 .295 .253 (+16%) .323 (+28%) .349 (+42%) .672 (+35%) 4258.8
1943 NY1 NL 125 380 65 89 12 2 18 47 7 95 48 .234 .255 (-9%) .324 (+20%) .346 (+21%) .671 (+21%) 1898.5
1944 NY1 NL 120 399 91 115 16 4 26 82 2 90 47 .288 .261 (+10%) .325 (+30%) .357 (+52%) .683 (+41%) 3465.1
1945 NY1 NL 135 451 73 139 23 0 21 79 1 71 41 .308 .260 (+18%) .328 (+25%) .354 (+41%) .683 (+33%) 3135.9
1946 NY1 NL 31 68 2 5 1 0 1 4 0 8 15 .074 .256 (-71%) .328 (-48%) .358 (-63%) .687 (-56%) -586.2
1947 NY1 NL 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 22 seasons 2,730 9,456 1,859 2,876 488 72 511 1,860 89 1,708 896 .304 — — — — 64,873

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Mel Ott — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
16 61 8 18 2 0 4 10 8 9 .295

Playoff Batting by Year

Mel Ott — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1937 WS NY1 5 20 1 4 0 0 1 3 1 4 .200
1936 WS NY1 6 23 4 7 2 0 1 3 3 1 .304
1933 WS NY1 5 18 3 7 0 0 2 4 4 4 .389

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (2730 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Mel Ott — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home136745769521360323951.297
Away136348779041516188919.311

Last 10 Games — Batting

Mel Ott — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1947-07-11 NY1STLL 100000000
1947-06-11 NY1PITL 100000000
1947-06-04 NY1CHCL 100000000
1947-04-30 NY1STLW 100000000
1946-09-04 NY1PHIL 100000001
1946-09-03 NY1BSNL 300000000
1946-09-02 NY1BSNW 200000010
1946-09-01 NY1BROL 100000000
1946-08-30 NY1PHIL 100000001
1946-08-28 NY1STLL 100000100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Mel Ott — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 6 0 18 14 2 4
3B 256 0 205 513 46 34
OF 2313 0 4511 256 98 60

Season-by-Season Fielding

Mel Ott — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1926 NY1 OF 10 0 18 3 2 0
1927 NY1 OF 32 0 52 2 1 1
1928 NY1 2B 5 0 14 13 1 4
1928 NY1 3B 1 0 0 2 0 0
1928 NY1 OF 115 0 214 14 7 4
1929 NY1 2B 1 0 4 1 1 0
1929 NY1 OF 149 0 335 26 10 12
1930 NY1 OF 146 0 320 23 11 6
1931 NY1 OF 137 0 332 20 7 4
1932 NY1 OF 154 0 347 11 6 5
1933 NY1 OF 152 0 283 12 5 3
1934 NY1 OF 153 0 286 12 8 1
1935 NY1 3B 15 0 19 25 3 3
1935 NY1 OF 137 0 285 17 3 7
1936 NY1 OF 148 0 250 20 4 3
1937 NY1 3B 60 0 42 113 10 5
1937 NY1 OF 91 0 156 13 0 1
1938 NY1 3B 113 0 98 238 15 14
1938 NY1 OF 37 0 65 3 0 0
1939 NY1 3B 20 0 15 39 6 4
1939 NY1 OF 96 0 175 6 5 2
1940 NY1 3B 42 0 30 83 8 8
1940 NY1 OF 111 0 210 9 4 2
1941 NY1 OF 145 0 256 19 9 3
1942 NY1 OF 152 0 269 15 3 3
1943 NY1 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1943 NY1 OF 111 0 219 12 6 1
1944 NY1 3B 4 0 1 13 4 0
1944 NY1 OF 103 0 199 6 3 0
1945 NY1 OF 118 0 217 11 4 1
1946 NY1 OF 16 0 23 2 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Mel Ott Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 6
Third Base 256
Left Field 30
Center Field 140
Right Field 2161

Awards & Honors

Mel Ott — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1939 Baseball Magazine All-Star RF
1938 Baseball Magazine All-Star RF
1938 Baseball Magazine All-Star CF
1938 TSN All-Star OF
1936 TSN All-Star OF
1935 Baseball Magazine All-Star RF
1935 TSN All-Star OF
1934 Baseball Magazine All-Star CF
1934 TSN All-Star OF

Award Voting History

Mel Ott — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1945 Most Valuable Player NL 13th 22.0 336 0
1944 Most Valuable Player NL 16th 20.0 336 0
1943 Most Valuable Player NL 20th 9.0 336 0
1942 Most Valuable Player NL 3rd 190.0 336 4
1941 Most Valuable Player NL 19th 12.0 336 0
1939 Most Valuable Player NL 11th 21.0 336 0
1938 Most Valuable Player NL 4th 132.0 336 0
1937 Most Valuable Player NL 7th 24.0 80 0
1936 Most Valuable Player NL 6th 28.0 80 0
1935 Most Valuable Player NL 20th 3.0 80 0
1934 Most Valuable Player NL 5th 37.0 80 0
1932 Most Valuable Player NL 10th 15.0 80 0
1929 Most Valuable Player NL 11th 15.0 80 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Mel Ott (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Frank Robinson HOF
    .294 avg, 586 HR
  2. 97
    Gary Sheffield
    .292 avg, 509 HR
  3. 94
    Mickey Mantle HOF
    .298 avg, 536 HR
  4. 86
    Manny Ramirez
    .312 avg, 555 HR
  5. 80
    Al Kaline HOF
    .297 avg, 399 HR
  6. 78
    Stan Musial HOF
    .331 avg, 475 HR

Compare Mel Ott

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Ott's closest peers by position and era.

vs Babe Ruth
vs Ted Williams
vs Barry Bonds
vs Ty Cobb
vs Stan Musial
vs Lou Gehrig

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

See Mel Ott in Another Era

What would Ott's 1929 season look like in a different era's run environment? Try the cross-era translation with a live slider.

Translate Mel Ott's peak season across eras →

Mel Ott: the record in brief

April 27, 1926 and July 11, 1947 bracket Mel Ott's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Ott spent the whole of the career shown here with one club, the New York Giants. Ott, born on March 2, 1909, in Gretna, LA, USA, is listed as an outfielder and batted left-handed and threw right-handed. The bio gives 5 feet, 9 inches and 170 pounds. Ott died on November 21, 1958, in New Orleans, LA, USA. Mel Ott was the playing name; the full given name is Melvin Thomas.

Ott collected 2,876 hits in 9,456 at bats across 2,730 games, good for a .304 batting average, plus 511 home runs, 1,860 RBI, and 89 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .414 and the slugging percentage .533, for an OPS of .947. Set against a .273 league average for the same years, Ott's .304 average sits 11.5% above it. By OPS the gap is 30.9% above league average (.947 against .724).

Frequently Asked Questions about Mel Ott

What years did Mel Ott play?
Mel Ott played in Major League Baseball from 1926 to 1947.
Was Mel Ott a pitcher?
No. Mel Ott was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Mel Ott hit?
Mel Ott hit 511 career home runs with 2,876 hits.
Is Mel Ott in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Mel Ott was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.
What teams did Mel Ott play for?
Mel Ott played for one team, the New York Giants (1926–1947).
Did Mel Ott win an MVP award?
No. Mel Ott did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Mel Ott win?
Mel Ott was selected to 12 All-Star Games.
What were Mel Ott's career stats?
In 2,730 games, Mel Ott had 2,876 hits, 511 home runs, 1,860 RBI, 1,859 runs, and 89 stolen bases, with a .304 batting average.
What position did Mel Ott play?
Mel Ott played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Mel Ott and how much did he weigh?
Mel Ott was listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 170 pounds.
How many home runs did Mel Ott hit each season?
Mel Ott's home runs by season: 0 in 1926, 1 in 1927, 18 in 1928, 42 in 1929, 25 in 1930, 29 in 1931, 38 in 1932, 23 in 1933, 35 in 1934, 31 in 1935, 33 in 1936, 31 in 1937, 36 in 1938, 27 in 1939, 19 in 1940, 27 in 1941, 30 in 1942, 18 in 1943, 26 in 1944, 21 in 1945, 1 in 1946, and 0 in 1947. His most in one season was 42, in 1929.
What was Mel Ott's career batting average?
Mel Ott batted .304 over his career, with 2,876 hits in 9,456 at bats.
How many RBI did Mel Ott have?
Mel Ott drove in 1,860 runs in his career.
How many All-Star Games did Mel Ott make?
Mel Ott was selected to 12 All-Star Games.