Word: mel
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Whenever he made one of his circus catches in right field, bashful Mel doffed his cap to the cheering bleacherites, was always rebuked by the veteran Giants: "If you'd been standing in the right place, you wouldn't have had to run so hard." In the locker room he got two nicknames, "Bright Eyes" and "Little Springtime." Furiously denying that he ever received "mash notes from girls," he learned to snap wet towels back at his tormentors. The sport writers dubbed him "Master Melvin...
Legs & Lefties. The only player who holds an edge over the little Giant as a right fielder is the mighty George Herman ("Babe") Ruth, whose big bat always obscured his prowess afield. But at bat and in the field, 173-lb. Mel gives the 215-lb. Bambino a good...
...what makes him a great hitter. He thinks maybe it's timing or coordination. There is no mystery about the times when Ott strikes out, pops up or dribbles to an infielder; generally it means that the pitcher has outguessed him, and sneaked in a fast ball when Mel was set for a curve or vice versa...
During the season Mel spends many of his evenings talking shop - often at Toots Shor's, 51st Street restaurant in Manhattan. He is a movie, crossword puzzle and gin rummy addict, and hankers for the better eating places that specialize in bouillabaisse and oyster Rockefeller. He has also been known to fritter away a few dollars, between seasons, on the ponies...
Skeptics wondered if he was too mild-mannered. But Mel convinced himself that he had to be "as tough a bastard as his players forced him to be." He has been tough enough since, but has not be come a managerial giant. A third, eighth and fifth place finish in three years is not much of a record. The club's current collapse is all but a managerial disaster...