Before PEDs became a thing in baseball, hitting 500 homeruns actually meant something. In fact over the first 120 year or so of professional baseball, only 15 players reached that mark (compared to 12 since). So when Mel Ott hit 511 for the New York Giants over the course of 22 seasons between the 1920s and 1940s, it was something special.
In addition to his power, Ott also hit for average (lifetime .304) and was one of the best defensive outfielders in the game with a rifle of an arm.
The Giants seem to be the forgotten NY team, and Ott the forgotten right fielder, but he was arguably the best player in New York Giants history (remember Willie Mays played most of his career in San Francisco).
Mel Ott is not forgotten here – he is easily an Immortal
For some background on what this is, check out the introduction post here.
