Sam Mele

Right fielder / Manager

Born: January 21, 1922 (age 95)
Astoria, New York

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut

April 15, 1947, for the Boston Red Sox

Last MLB appearance

September 16, 1956, for the Cleveland Indians

MLB statistics

Batting average

.267

Home runs

Runs batted in

544

Games managed

963

Win–loss record

524–436

Winning %

.546

Teams

As player

As manager

Minnesota Twins (1961–1967)

Sabath Anthony "Sam" Mele (born January 21, 1922) 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 was the nephew of major league baseball players Tony and Al Cuccinello, but did not play baseball until he attended William Cullen Bryant High School. The high school gave up baseball after his freshman year, but Mele played with other local baseball teams. Mentored by his uncle Tony, Mele gained major league attention and worked out with several teams while still in high school. After high school, Mele attended New York University. In 1940, he broke his leg sliding into third base but, in 1941, he posted a batting average of .405, and in 1942, he hit .369. He also excelled as a basketball player. NYU basketball head coach Howard Cann called Mele one of the finest players he ever coached. In the summer of 1941, Mele also played baseball for the Burlington, Vermont team of the Northern League where he made contact with the Boston Red Sox and signed a five-figure contract.

But before he could join the Sox, he first signed up for the United States Marine Corps in 1942 and was called in July 1943. As part of the V-12 Navy College Training Program, Mele played baseball for Red Rolfe at Yale University. He was sent to the Pacific Ocean where he was able to play baseball with Joe DiMaggio and others. Mele led the Navy league with a .358 average in 1944. In 1946, after the Marines, Mele joined the Red Sox in Sarasota, Florida before being sent to the Louisville Colonels and, later, the Eastern League Scranton Red Sox. Mele won the Eastern League Most Valuable Player award, leading the league in average (.342), total bases and triples. The following year, the Boston Red Sox went into spring with uncertainty at the right field position, but Mele won the job with a 5-for-5 performance, and hit .302 for the season. He also substituted well in center field when Dom DiMaggio was injured.

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Wikipedia