Sam Mele
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sam Mele | ||
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| Outfielder/Manager | ||
| Born: January 21, 1922 Astoria, New York |
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| Batted: Right | Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | ||
| April 15, 1947 for the Boston Red Sox |
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| Final game | ||
| September 16, 1956 for the Cleveland Indians |
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| Career statistics | ||
| Batting average | .267 | |
| Home runs | 80 | |
| Runs batted in | 544 | |
| Teams | ||
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As Player
As Manager
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| Career highlights and awards | ||
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Sabath Anthony "Sam" Mele (born January 21, 1922 in Astoria, New York) is a former right fielder, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball. As a manager, he led the Minnesota Twins to their first American League championship in 1965.
Mele attended New York University, where he excelled as a basketball player, before service in World War II. During his playing days (1947-56), Mele saw duty with six major league clubs: the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians, batting .267 with 80 home runs in 1,046 games. He batted and threw righthanded.
Mele became pilot of the Twins on June 23, 1961, the team's first season in Minnesota after moving from Washington. He had been a coach for the Senators in 1959 and 1960, under Cookie Lavagetto. With the '61 Twins struggling, Mele filled in as manager while Lavagetto took a seven-game leave of absence in early June, then formally succeeded to the job later in the month. The Twins moved up two places in the standings under Mele, finishing seventh.
But fortified by young players such as Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, Jim Kaat, Zoilo Versalles and Bob Allison, the Twins challenged the powerful New York Yankees in 1962 before placing second. After finishing third in 1963, the team suffered through an off-year in 1964, leading to speculation that Mele would be replaced by his new third base coach, Billy Martin.
However, the 1965 Twins broke the Yankees' stranglehold on the AL pennant. Led by Versalles, named the American League's Most Valuable Player, batting champion Tony Oliva, and pitcher Mudcat Grant, a 21-game winner, Minnesota won 102 games and coasted to the league title. (The Yanks finished sixth.) Minnesota took a two-game lead in the 1965 World Series, but the superior pitching of the Los Angeles Dodgers' Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Claude Osteen took its toll and Los Angeles won in seven games.
The 1966 Twins won 13 fewer games, and ended up as runners-up to the Baltimore Orioles. Mele also clashed publicly with two of his coaches, including pitching tutor Johnny Sain. The club swung a major trade for pitcher Dean Chance during the offseason and unveiled star rookie Rod Carew in 1967. Hopes and expectations were high in Minnesota, but when the Twins were only .500 after 50 games, Mele was fired. His successor was not Martin, however, but longtime minor league manager Cal Ermer. Mele's record as a manager was 524-436 (.546). He never managed again, but returned to the Red Sox as a scout for 25 years.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career managing record and playing statistics
| Preceded by Cookie Lavagetto |
Minnesota Twins Manager 1961 |
Succeeded by Cookie Lavagetto |
| Preceded by Cookie Lavagetto |
Minnesota Twins Manager 1961-1967 |
Succeeded by Cal Ermer |
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