View source for Sam Mele

{{Short description|American baseball player and manager (1922–2017)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Sam Mele
|image=Sam Mele.jpg
|position=[[Right fielder]] / [[Manager (baseball)|Manager]]
|birth_date={{Birth date|1922|1|21}}
|birth_place=[[Astoria, New York]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|2017|5|1|1922|1|21}}
|death_place=[[Quincy, Massachusetts]], U.S.
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate= April 15
|debutyear=1947
|debutteam=Boston Red Sox
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 16
|finalyear=1956
|finalteam=Cleveland Indians
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.267
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=80
|stat3label=[[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=544
|stat4label=Managerial record
|stat4value=524–436
|stat5label=Winning %
|stat5value={{winning percentage|524|436}}
|teams=
'''As player'''
* [[Boston Red Sox]] ({{mlby|1947}}–{{mlby|1949}})
* [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] ({{mlby|1949}}–{{mlby|1952}})
* [[Chicago White Sox]] ({{mlby|1952}}–{{mlby|1953}})
* [[Baltimore Orioles]] ({{mlby|1954}})
* [[Boston Red Sox]] ({{mlby|1954}}–{{mlby|1955}})
* [[Cincinnati Redlegs]] ({{mlby|1955}})
* [[Cleveland Indians]] ({{mlby|1956}})
'''As manager'''
* [[Minnesota Twins]] ({{mlby|1961}}–{{mlby|1967}})
}}
'''Sabath Anthony''' "'''Sam'''" '''Mele''' (January 21, 1922 &ndash; May 1, 2017) was an American [[right fielder]], [[manager (baseball)|manager]], [[coach (baseball)|coach]] and [[scout (sport)|scout]] in [[Major League Baseball]]. As a manager, he led the [[Minnesota Twins]] to their first [[American League]] championship in {{Baseball year|1965}}.<ref name=data>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/melesa01.shtml Career statistics and history] at [https://www.baseball-reference.com Baseball-Reference.com]</ref>

==Early life==
Mele was born in 1922 in [[Queens]], New York, where his parents had immigrated to from Italy.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Goldstein|first1=Richard|title=Sam Mele, Major League Player, Manager and Scout, Dies at 95|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/sports/baseball/sam-mele-dead-managed-twins-to-world-series.html|access-date=15 May 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=4 May 2017|page=B14}}</ref>  Mele was the nephew of major league baseball players [[Tony Cuccinello|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 (baseball)|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 (baseball, 1902–71)|Northern League]] where he made contact with the [[Boston Red Sox]] and signed a five-figure contract.

==World War II service==
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.

==Playing career==
Mele threw and batted [[right-handed]] and was listed as {{convert|6|ft|1|in}} tall and {{convert|183|lb}}.<ref name=data/> In 1946, after the Marines, Mele joined the Red Sox in [[Sarasota, Florida]], before being sent to the [[Louisville Colonels (minor league baseball)|Louisville Colonels]] and, later, the [[Eastern League (1938–2020)|Eastern League]] [[Scranton Red Sox]].  Mele won the Eastern League [[Most Valuable Player]] award, leading the league in [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] (.342), [[total bases]] and [[triple (baseball)|triple]]s. Along the way, he acquired the nickname "Sam" from his initials.<ref name=Deveaux>[https://books.google.com/books?id=aGGlTmcmB2gC&dq=%22sam+mele%22+initials&pg=PA179 The Washington Senators, 1901–1971] by Tom Deveaux.  {{ISBN|0-7864-0993-2}}.</ref>

The following year, the [[1947 Boston Red Sox season|1947 Red Sox]], the defending American League champions, went into [[spring training]] with uncertainty at the [[right field]] position, but Mele won the job with a 5-for-5 performance, started in 90 games, and hit .302 for the season.  He also substituted well in [[Center fielder|center field]] when [[Dom DiMaggio]] was injured.<ref name=digest48>{{cite journal |last1=Rumill |first1=Ed |year=1948 |title=He Hoops It Up for the Red Sox Now |journal=[[Baseball Digest]] |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=14–16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_S0DAAAAMBAJ&q=baseball%20digest%201948&pg=PA14 |access-date=27 August 2011}}</ref>

During his big-league career (1947–56), Mele saw duty with six major league clubs: the Red Sox, [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]], [[Chicago White Sox]], [[Baltimore Orioles]], [[Cincinnati Reds]] and [[Cleveland Indians]], [[batting average (baseball)|batting]] .267 with 80 [[home run]]s in 1,046 games. His 916 [[hit (baseball)|hits]] also included 168 [[double (baseball)|doubles]], 39 [[triple (baseball)|triples]], 406 [[run (baseball)|runs]] and 311 [[bases on balls]]. Although he never duplicated his .302 rookie batting average, Mele had two strong back-to-back seasons for Washington in 1950–51. Playing as the Senators' regular right fielder, he drove home 86 and 94 [[runs batted in|runs]] and led the American League in doubles with 36 in {{baseball year|1951}}. In {{baseball year|1953}}, he knocked in 82 runs for the White Sox, second on the club. Defensively, Mele posted a .988 [[fielding percentage]] at all three outfield positions and at first base.<ref name="data" />

==Managing career==

===Minnesota Twins===

====Early managerial and coaching career====
Immediately after his playing career ended in the minor leagues in 1958, Mele became a scout for the Washington Senators.  But in {{Baseball year|1959}}, on July 4, Mele joined the Major League coaching staff of the Senators under manager [[Cookie Lavagetto]] when [[Billy Jurges]] departed to become skipper of the Red Sox.<ref>{{cite news|last=The Associated Press|author-link=The Associated Press|title=Sam Mele named Senators' coach|newspaper=Reading Eagle|date=July 5, 1959}}</ref>  He followed the franchise when it moved to [[Bloomington, Minnesota]], as the [[Minnesota Twins]] in {{baseball year|1961}}.  With the maiden edition of the Twins struggling at 19–30 (.388) on June 6, 1961, Mele filled in as manager, winning two of seven games while Lavagetto took a leave of absence.  Mele then formally succeeded to the job on June 23, 1961. The Twins moved up two places in the standings under Mele, going 45–49 (.479) and finishing seventh.<ref name=data/>

But fortified by young players such as [[Baseball Hall of Fame|Hall of Famer]] [[Harmon Killebrew]], [[Jim Kaat]], [[Zoilo Versalles]] and [[Bob Allison]], the Twins challenged the powerful [[New York Yankees]] in {{Baseball year|1962}} before placing second. After finishing third in {{Baseball year|1963}}, the team suffered through a poor season in {{Baseball year|1964}},<ref name=data/> leading to speculation that Mele would be replaced by his new third base coach, [[Billy Martin]].

====1965 American League championship====
1965 proved a surprise as Mele's Twins broke through the Yankees' stranglehold. That team had won the American League pennant 15 of the past 18 seasons (1947–1964) while the Twins languished out of contention. Led by Versalles, who was named the American League's [[MLB Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player]], batting champion [[Tony Oliva]], and pitcher [[Mudcat Grant]], who won 21 games, Minnesota won 102 games—still a franchise record—and coasted to the league title (the Yankees, in the beginning of a downfall for years, were not competitive). Minnesota won the first two games in the [[1965 World Series]], but the superior pitching trio of the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] in [[Sandy Koufax]], [[Don Drysdale]] and [[Claude Osteen]] asserted itself as Los Angeles won in seven games.<ref name=data/>

====1966 and beyond====

The {{Baseball year|1966}} Twins won 13 fewer games, and finished runners-up to the [[Baltimore Orioles]].<ref name=data/> Mele also became embroiled in a clash between two of his coaches, Martin and pitching tutor [[Johnny Sain]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Gross|first=Milt|title=Mele's number was up long before firing|newspaper=Miami News|date=June 13, 1967}}</ref> which was later described by Martin as Sain's efforts to try to get Mele fired.<ref>''Number 1'', Billy Martin with Peter Golenbock, 1980.</ref> His action (or inaction) alienated him from some of the players.<ref>United Press International, "Kaat Calls Loss of 2 Coaches Big Error", quoted in [https://www.nytimes.com/1966/10/07/archives/kaat-calls-twins-loss-of-2-coaches-big-error.html ''The New York Times'', October 7, 1966]</ref> The club swung a major trade for [[pitcher]] [[Dean Chance]] during the offseason and unveiled star rookie [[Rod Carew]] in {{Baseball year|1967}}. Expectations were high in Minnesota, but when the Twins were only .500 after 50 games, Mele was fired. His successor was not Martin, as had been anticipated, but longtime [[minor league]] manager [[Cal Ermer]].<ref name=data/>

Mele's record as a manager was 524–436 (.546).<ref name="managerial record">{{cite web|title=Sam Mele|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/melesa01.shtml|website=Baseball Reference|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|access-date=August 3, 2016}}</ref> He never managed again at any level in baseball, but returned to the Red Sox, where he served as a special assignments scout from the midseason of 1967 until his 1994 retirement.

===Managerial record===
{| class="wikitable" Style="text-align: center"
|-
!rowspan="2"|Team!!rowspan="2"|From!!rowspan="2"|To!!colspan="3"|Regular season record!!colspan="3"|Post–season record
|-
!{{Tooltip|W|Games won}}!!{{Tooltip|L|Games lost}}!!{{Tooltip|Win %|Winning percentage}}!!{{Tooltip|W|Games won}}!!{{Tooltip|L|Games lost}}!!{{Tooltip|Win %|Winning percentage}}
|-
|[[Minnesota Twins]]||1961||1961
|{{WinLossPct|2|5}}
|colspan="3"|—
|-
|Minnesota Twins||1961||1967
|{{WinLossPct|522|431}}
|{{WinLossPct|3|4}}
|-
!colspan="3"| Total
!{{WinLossPct|524|436}}
!{{WinLossPct|3|4}}
|-
!colspan="9"|{{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference}}:<ref name="managerial record"/>
|}

==Death==
Mele died on the night of May 1, 2017 at his residence in [[Quincy, Massachusetts]] of natural causes at the age of 95.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/red_sox/clubhouse_insider/2017/05/former_red_sox_player_scout_sam_mele_dies_at_95|title=Former Red Sox player, scout Sam Mele dies at 95|publisher=[[Boston Herald]]|access-date=May 2, 2017|date=May 2, 2017}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats|br=m/melesa01|brm=mele--001sab}}
*{{Baseball-reference manager|melesa01}}
* [http://www.cooloftheevening.com/sam_mele.htm Cool of the Evening: The 1965 Minnesota Twins] – Web bio by author of Twins' book
* {{Find a Grave}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-sports}}
{{succession box|title=[[Minnesota Twins|Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins]] <br>[[coach (baseball)|third base coach]]|before=[[Billy Jurges]]|after=[[Floyd Baker]]|years=1959–1961}}
{{s-end}}

{{TwinsManagers}}
{{Sporting News Manager of the Year Award}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mele, Sam}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2017 deaths]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:American people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:Baltimore Orioles players]]
[[Category:Baseball coaches from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Baseball managers]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox players]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox scouts]]
[[Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players]]
[[Category:Chicago White Sox players]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Redlegs players]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians players]]
[[Category:Indianapolis Indians players]]
[[Category:Louisville Colonels (minor league) players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball outfielders]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball third base coaches]]
[[Category:Minnesota Twins coaches]]
[[Category:Minnesota Twins managers]]
[[Category:NYU Violets baseball players]]
[[Category:NYU Violets men's basketball players]]
[[Category:People from Astoria, Queens]]
[[Category:Scranton Red Sox players]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Queens, New York]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Quincy, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Washington Senators (1901–1960) coaches]]
[[Category:Washington Senators (1901–1960) players]]
[[Category:Washington Senators (1901–60) scouts]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]