View source for Mel Hall

{{short description|American baseball player (born 1960)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Mel Hall
|image=Mel Hall Indians.jpg
|position=[[Outfielder]]
|bats=Left
|throws=Left
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1960|9|16}}
|birth_place=[[Lyons (town), New York|Lyons, New York]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=September 3
|debutyear=1981
|debutteam=Chicago Cubs
|final2league = MLB
|final2date=May 21
|final2year=1996
|final2team=San Francisco Giants
|debut2league = NPB
|debut2date=April 10
|debut2year=1993
|debut2team=Chiba Lotte Marines
|finalleague = NPB
|finaldate=June 27
|finalyear=1995
|finalteam=Chunichi Dragons
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.276
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=134
|stat3label=[[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=620
|stat2league = NPB
|stat21label=Batting average
|stat21value=.278
|stat22label=Home runs
|stat22value=64
|stat23label=Runs batted in
|stat23value=207
|teams=
* [[Chicago Cubs]] ({{mlby|1981}}–{{mlby|1984}})
* [[Cleveland Indians]] ({{mlby|1984}}–{{mlby|1988}})
* [[New York Yankees]] ({{mlby|1989}}–{{mlby|1992}})
* [[Chiba Lotte Marines]] ({{npby|1993}}–{{npby|1994}})
* [[Chunichi Dragons]] ({{npby|1995}})
* [[San Francisco Giants]] ({{mlby|1996}})
|module=
{{Infobox criminal|child=yes
| charge = Aggravated sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child
| conviction = June 16, 2009
| conviction_penalty = 45 years in prison, with 22 years and four months minimum
| conviction_status = Incarcerated at [[Coffield Unit|H. H. Coffield Unit]] of [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]; earliest possible parole November 15, 2031
}}
}}
'''Melvin Hall Jr.''' (born September 16, 1960) is an American former [[professional baseball]] player who played in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) from 1981 to 1992 with the [[Chicago Cubs]], [[Cleveland Indians]], and [[New York Yankees]], and in 1996 with the [[San Francisco Giants]]. He also played in [[Nippon Professional Baseball]] (NPB) from 1993 to 1995 with the [[Chiba Lotte Marines]] and [[Chunichi Dragons]]. Hall primarily played as an [[outfielder]]. On June 17, 2009, he was sentenced to 45 years in prison after being found guilty of two counts of sexual assault against minors.
==Playing career==
Hall made his MLB debut in 1981 with the [[Chicago Cubs]].<ref name="baseball-reference.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hallme01.shtml|title=Mel Hall Stats - Baseball-Reference.com|author=|date=|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> In his first full Major League season in 1983, Hall hit 17 home runs in 112 games. In 1987, he had the best fielding percentage and [[range factor]] of all MLB left-fielders.<ref name="baseball-reference.com"/>
In 1991, when [[Bernie Williams]] was a rookie, Hall made fun of him by giving him the nickname "Zero". It was alleged that when Williams would talk, Hall would scream "Shut up, Zero!" at him, nearly making him cry.<ref>{{cite book|author=Joel Sherman|title=Birth of a Dynasty: Behind the Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees|year=2006|publisher=Rodale Books |isbn=978-1-59486-670-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/birthofdynastybe0000sher}}</ref> In {{baseball year|1992}}, Hall hit 15 home runs, drove in a career-high 81 RBIs and had a career high of 163 hits in 152 games with the New York Yankees. During that year's Yankees [[Old-Timers' Day]], he walked onto the field and asked manager [[Buck Showalter]], "Who are these old fucking guys?" Showalter said: "That's when I knew he had to go."<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.sbnation.com/2014/7/15/5883593/the-many-crimes-of-mel-hall|title=The many crimes of Mel Hall|first=Greg|last=Hanlon|date=15 July 2014|website=SBNation.com}}</ref> That season he earned $1.2 million.<ref name="baseball-reference.com"/>
Following the season, after his contract expired and no major league team showed interest in him, the 32-year-old left the major leagues, agreeing to a two-year $4 million contract to play in Japan.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite news| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE6DD173CF934A25752C1A964958260 | work=The New York Times | title=Mel Hall Goes to Japan | date=November 17, 1992}}</ref> He returned to the U.S. to play for the [[San Francisco Giants]] in 1996, but was released a month into the season after registering only three singles in 25 games. He signed a minor-league contract with the [[Chicago White Sox]], but was released 12 days later after only playing four games with their Triple-A affiliate, the [[Nashville Sounds]]. He retired shortly thereafter.<ref name="auto"/><ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hallme01.shtml Mel Hall Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215175001/http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hallme01.shtml |date=February 15, 2009 }}</ref>
==Sexual assault conviction==
Hall was arrested in [[Lewisville, Texas]], on June 21, 2007, and charged with two counts of [[sexual assault]] after police in [[North Richland Hills, Texas]], received a report from a woman who reported she was sexually assaulted in March 1999, when she was under the age of 17. During the investigation, a second victim under the age of 14 was identified.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i76hjSuax32nMrbm09sEjbJr-AEAD98RUHM80  |access-date=2016-11-11 }}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> One of these girls was 12 at the time of the [[rape]]. On June 16, 2009, Hall was convicted on three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child. On June 17, 2009, he was sentenced to 45 years in prison, with 22&nbsp;years and 4 months minimum.<ref name=ap_conviction>{{cite news|title=Ex-MLB Player Sentenced For Raping Minor|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-mlb-player-sentenced-for-raping-minor/|agency=Associated Press|access-date=14 June 2012}}</ref> Hall is currently serving his sentence at [[Coffield Unit|H. H. Coffield Unit]] in [[Tennessee Colony, Texas]]; his earliest possible [[parole]] will be November 15, 2031.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://inmate.tdcj.texas.gov/InmateSearch/viewDetail.action?sid=06023953|title=Texas Department of Criminal Justice Inmate Search|author=|date=|website=inmate.tdcj.texas.gov}}</ref>
In 2014, ''[[SB Nation]]'' published a [[Long-form journalism|long-form]] article detailing allegations that Hall serially preyed upon and sexually abused numerous girls throughout his career.<ref name="auto"/>
==See also==
*[[Chad Curtis]], major league baseball player convicted of sexual assault
*[[Luis Polonia]], major league baseball player convicted of sexual assault
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{Baseballstats|mlb=115348|espn= |br=h/hallme01|fangraphs=1005259|brm=hall--001mel|retro=H/Phallm001}}
*[http://bronxbanter.baseballtoaster.com/archives/594405.html Mel Hall Hassles Williams'']
{{s-start}}
{{succession box | before = [[Dusty Baker]] | title = [[MLB Player of the Month|National League Player of the Month]]| years = August 1983| after = [[Dale Murphy]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Mel}}
[[Category:1960 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:African-American baseball players]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Japan]]
[[Category:American people convicted of child sexual abuse]]
[[Category:American people convicted of rape]]
[[Category:American sportspeople convicted of crimes]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Cayuga County, New York]]
[[Category:Chiba Lotte Marines players]]
[[Category:Chicago Cubs players]]
[[Category:Chunichi Dragons players]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians players]]
[[Category:Coastal Bend Aviators players]]
[[Category:Fort Worth Cats players]]
[[Category:Geneva Cubs players]]
[[Category:Gulf Coast Cubs players]]
[[Category:Iowa Cubs players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball left fielders]]
[[Category:Midland Cubs players]]
[[Category:Nashville Sounds players]]
[[Category:New York Yankees players]]
[[Category:Nippon Professional Baseball designated hitters]]
[[Category:People from Lyons, New York]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of Texas]]
[[Category:San Francisco Giants players]]
[[Category:Springfield/Ozark Mountain Ducks players]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]