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Mel Ott: The Little Giant of Baseball |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Baseball History > Item 53
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Mel Ott: The Little Giant of Baseball
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by Fred Stein
Sales Rank: 153507
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List Price: $26.95
$32.00
At Amazon
on 6-19-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 240 pages
Published by: McFarland & Company April 1999
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0786406585
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0786406586
Book Dimensions:
9.1 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
Weighs: 11.5 ounces
From Booklist
Mel Ott hit 511 home runs for the New York Giants between 1926 and 1947, and he managed the Giants from 1942 through 1948. What makes his story of interest today, however, is the way it captures baseball in a very different era: before and during World War II. Stein evokes the period nostalgically but accurately: a time when fans followed the game on the radio and when the press, given to hyperbole, created archetypes out of star athletes. Ott was the nice guy, the 17-year-old from Gretna, Louisiana, who impressed hard-bitten Giants manager John McGraw with his sweet stroke and odd stance (right leg lifted off the ground). And yet, as Stein recounts, Ott's very niceness led to the inevitable rap of being not tough enough, and when he was replaced as manager by the fiery Leo Durocher ("Nice guys finish last"), the nice guy had come full circle. The best baseball myths always carry a bittersweet tang, and this first biography of Mel Ott passes that taste test with ease. Leon Wagner
USA Today Baseball Weekly
"here's the full story of one of the best-and nicest guys to play the sport"
Reader Reviews
Author Fred Stein has provided us with a well written biography about Mel Ott, one of the greatest players in the storied history of the New York Giants baseball team. Milton Shapiro wrote a biography of Ott in 1959 on a more juvenile level and it was long overdue for another more detailed biography of Master Melvin. Ott arrived at the Polo Grounds in the mid 1920's for a tryout on the recommendation of Harry Williams, a friend of Giants' manager John McGraw. McGraw didn't want anyone tampering with Ott's batting stance in the minor leagues and wanted to keep a close watch on the young teen ager. After gradually breaking Ott into the lineup and with the added confidence, Ott became one of the most popular players ever to play with the Giants. The book covers the story of Bill Terry's succeeding McGraw as Giants' manager as well as Ott's career as Terry's successor at the helm. It may be true that Ott didn't have the disposition to be a manager. When he acted up over an umpire's decision, his ranting just didn't appear to be real. I read with great surprise that Ott didn't attend his Hall of Fame induction at Cooperstown in 1951 because he was managing the Oakland Oaks in the minor leagues. I remember very well when Ott broadcasted Detroit Tigers' baseball games with Van Patrick from 1956 through 1958 and enjoyed him very much. His death in November of 1958 was a great loss to all of baseball and to those who followed the Tigers on the radio. Many athletes may be great on the field, but are a disappointment off the field. Ott didn't disappoint those who looked up to him. The book is easy to read and should be enjoyable for anyone from teen agers to adults. Thanks, Fred Stein for a great effort. I only wish the book was available in hard cover.
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Mel Ott: The Little Giant of Baseball
Available from Amazon
Price: $32.00
Updated on 6-19-2008.
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