Cliff Melton
Pitcher
Born: (1912-01-03)January 3, 1912
Brevard, North Carolina, U.S.
Died: July 28, 1986(1986-07-28) (aged 74)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 25, 1937, for the New York Giants
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1944, for the New York Giants
MLB statistics
Win–loss record86–80
Earned run average3.42
Strikeouts660
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Clifford George Melton (January 3, 1912 – July 28, 1986) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants over parts of eight seasons spanning 1937–44. Listed at 6 ft 5.5 in (1.969 m), 203 lb (92 kg), Melton batted left-handed.[1]

A native of Brevard, North Carolina, Melton had two different nicknames: "Mickey Mouse" and "Mountain Music". His cousin, Rube, pitched in the major leagues for six seasons.[1]

Major League career

Melton enjoyed his best year in his rookie season of 1937, when he had a record of 20–9 with a 2.61 earned run average (ERA) and topped the National League (NL) with seven saves, helping the Giants won the NL pennant before losing to the New York Yankees in the 1937 World Series. Melton also was named to the National League All-Star team in 1942.[1]

For his career, Melton posted an 86–80 record with a 3.42 ERA in 272 pitching appearances (179 starts), and striking out 660 batters while walking 431 in 1,453+2⁄3 innings of work. In World Series play, he went 0–2 with a 4.91 ERA in three games (two starts), including seven strikeouts and six walks in 11 innings.

Melton died on July 28, 1986, in Baltimore, Maryland, at the age of 74.[2]

Fact

On September 15, 1938, Melton was on the mound the first time that two brothers hit back-to-back home runs in major league history.[3] The batters were Lloyd Waner and Paul Waner of the Pittsburgh Pirates. (The second time was not until April 23, 2013, when B. J. Upton and Justin Upton of the Atlanta Braves homered against Colorado Rockies' Jon Garland.)[4][5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Cliff Melton Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  2. ↑ "What Happened on July 28, 1986". onthisday.com. On This Day. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  3. ↑ Zerby, Jack. "Cliff Melton". SABR.org. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Elias Says: Apr. 1, 2018". espn.go.com. ESPN. March 31, 2018. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Atlanta Braves 10, Colorado Rockies 2 (2)". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet. April 23, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
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