View source for Mel Queen (pitcher/outfielder)

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Short description|American baseball player and manager (1942–2011)}}
{{distinguish|Mel Queen (pitcher)}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Mel Queen
|image=Mel Queen (pitcher-outfielder).jpeg
|position=[[Pitcher]] / [[Outfielder]] / [[Manager (baseball)|Manager]]
|birth_date={{birth date|1942|3|26}}
|birth_place=[[Johnson City, New York]], U.S.
|death_date={{Death date and age|2011|5|11|1942|3|26}}
|death_place=[[Morro Bay, California]], U.S.
|bats=Left
|throws=Right
|debutleague=MLB
|debutdate=April 13
|debutyear=1964
|debutteam=Cincinnati Reds
|finalleague=MLB
|finaldate=July 21
|finalyear=1972
|finalteam=California Angels
|statleague=MLB
|stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
|stat1value=20–17
|stat2label=[[Earned run average]]
|stat2value=3.14
|stat3label=[[Strikeout]]s
|stat3value=306
|teams=
;As player
* [[Cincinnati Reds]] ({{mlby|1964}}–{{mlby|1969}})
* [[California Angels]] ({{mlby|1970}}–{{mlby|1972}})
;As manager
* [[Toronto Blue Jays]] ({{mlby|1997}})
}}
'''Melvin Douglas Queen''' (March 26, 1942 – May 11, 2011) was an American [[professional baseball]] player, [[manager (baseball)|manager]], [[coach (baseball)|coach]], [[scout (sport)|scout]] and executive. He played all or part of nine seasons as an [[outfielder]] and [[pitcher]] in [[Major League Baseball]], and also served for four seasons as a [[pitching coach]].  He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.<ref name=BRMaj>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/q/queenme02.shtml |title=Baseball Reference – Mel Queen profile and statistics |access-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-date=July 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703063636/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/q/queenme02.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="TSNQueen">{{cite news|title=Former Toronto Blue Jays pitching coach Mel Queen dies|url=https://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=365597|access-date=May 13, 2011|newspaper=[[The Sports Network]]|date=May 13, 2011|archive-date=May 16, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516063953/http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=365597|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Early life ==
Queen's father, [[Mel Queen (pitcher)|Melvin Joseph Queen]] (1918–1982), was a Major League pitcher for the [[New York Yankees]] and [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] for parts of eight seasons from 1942 to 1952.<ref name=BRMaj/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/q/queenme01.shtml|title=Mel Queen Stats|access-date=March 27, 2018|archive-date=July 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730063651/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/q/queenme01.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> The younger Mel Queen was born in [[Johnson City, New York]] and the family moved to California in the early 1950s when his father was playing for the [[Hollywood Stars]] of the [[Pacific Coast League]]. He was signed to a bonus by the Reds after a stellar three-sport high school career at [[San Luis Obispo High School]] in [[San Luis Obispo, California]], where he was a teammate of future Major League pitcher [[Jim Lonborg]].<ref name="dougwilsonbaseball.blogspot.com">{{cite web |url=http://dougwilsonbaseball.blogspot.com/2011/05/rip-mel-queen.html |title=Doug Wilson's baseball bookshelf: RIP Mel Queen |website=dougwilsonbaseball.blogspot.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151027100531/http://dougwilsonbaseball.blogspot.com/2011/05/rip-mel-queen.html |archive-date=October 27, 2015}} </ref><ref name="sabr.org">{{Cite web|url=http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/9c526ed6|title=Mel Queen – Society for American Baseball Research|access-date=July 17, 2013|archive-date=May 25, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525052620/http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/9c526ed6|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Professional career ==
=== Cincinnati Reds ===
Queen started his [[Minor League Baseball|minor league]] career as a [[third baseman]] with the [[Palatka Redlegs]] of the [[Florida State League]].<ref name=BRMin>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=queen-001mel |title=Baseball Reference – Mel Queen Minor league career |access-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-date=April 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404224856/http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=queen-001mel |url-status=live }}</ref> The following year, Queen led [[Three-I League]] [[third baseman|third basemen]] with 228 [[assist (baseball)|assists]] while playing for the Topeka Reds. After spending 1962 with the [[Macon Peaches]],<ref name=BRMin/> Queen was converted into an outfielder in 1963 while with the [[San Diego Padres (minors)|San Diego Padres]], at the time the Reds' [[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] affiliate in the [[Pacific Coast League]].<ref name=BRMin/>
In 1964, Queen started the season with the major league Reds, making his MLB debut on [[Opening Day]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=queenme02&t=b&year=1964 |title=Mel Queen 1964 game log |access-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305143930/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=queenme02&t=b&year=1964 |url-status=live }}</ref> April 13, as a [[pinch hitter]] in the sixth inning, lining out to center field off [[Houston Astros]] pitcher [[Ken Johnson (right-handed pitcher)|Ken Johnson]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN196404130.shtml |title=April 13, 1964 box score |access-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-date=May 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529034842/https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN196404130.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> He got his first hit 11 days later with a single against the [[San Francisco Giants]], off [[Baseball Hall of Fame|future Hall of Famer]] [[Juan Marichal]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/9c526ed6/|title=Mel Queen – Society for American Baseball Research|access-date=July 17, 2013|archive-date=May 25, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525052620/http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/9c526ed6|url-status=live}}</ref> He spent the entire season with the Reds, appearing in 46 games and batting .200.
==== Conversion to pitching ====
After spending nearly all of 1965 back with the minor league Padres, appearing in only five games for the Reds, Queen returned to the majors full-time in 1966. It was this season that he was again converted, this time into a pitcher.<ref name="sabr.org"/>
He made his pitching debut on July 15 against the [[St. Louis Cardinals]], pitching the ninth inning of a blowout loss.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=queenme02&t=p&year=1966 |title=Mel Queen 1966 pitching game log |access-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304194603/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=queenme02&t=p&year=1966 |url-status=live }}</ref> Altogether, he appeared in 56 games for the Reds, 32 as an outfielder, seven as a pitcher, and the rest as a pinch-hitter.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=queenme02&t=b&year=1966 |title=Mel Queen 1966 batting game log |access-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305135403/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=queenme02&t=b&year=1966 |url-status=live }}</ref> As a pitcher, he compiled a 6.43 [[earned run average]] in seven [[relief pitcher|relief]] appearances for the Reds and did not have a decision.
Queen's most productive season came in 1967, when he posted a 14-8 [[Win–loss record (pitching)|record]] and a 2.76 ERA in 31 games, [[strikeout|striking out]] 154 batters in a career-high 195.2 [[innings pitched]], while allowing two or less earned runs in 15 of his 24 [[starting pitcher|starts]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=queenme02&t=p&year=1967 |title=1967 Pitching Log |access-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-date=April 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423155516/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=queenme02&t=p&year=1967 |url-status=live }}</ref> His season highlights included a six-hit [[shutouts in baseball|shutout]] against the [[San Francisco Giants]] in his first career start on April 16,<ref>[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1967/B04162CIN1967.htm Retrosheet Box Score – Cincinnati Reds 6, San Francisco Giants 0. Game Played on Sunday, April 16, 1967 (D) at Crosley Field]</ref> and a two-hit shutout against the [[New York Mets]] on September 8.<ref>[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1967/B09081NYN1967.htm Retrosheet Box Score – Cincinnati Reds 3, New York Mets 0. Game Played on Friday, September 8, 1967 (N) at Shea Stadium]</ref>
Queen developed shoulder problems including a torn rotator cuff and missed most of the 1968 season, then spent much of 1969 in the minor leagues.
=== California Angels ===
Queen was purchased by the [[California Angels]] in October 1969. He appeared in 34 games in 1970, all but three in relief, posting a record of 3-6 and an ERA of 4.20 with nine [[save (baseball)|saves]]. In 1971, he pitched in 44 games, all in relief, and posted a career-best 1.78 ERA. In 1972, he appeared in 17 games, posting a 4.35 ERA with no decisions, while spending part of the year back in the minor leagues.<ref name=BRMaj/> It was his last year as an active player.
=== Career overview ===
In a seven-season career, Queen went 20–17 with a 3.14 ERA and 14 saves in 140 games, giving up 154 runs (136 earned) on 336 hits and 143 [[base on balls|walks]] while striking out 306 in 389.2 innings of work.<ref name=BRMaj/> As a pitcher, Queen relied almost entirely on his fastball.
"I just went to the mound and threw as hard as I could", he said in an interview.<ref>Dragseth, P.J. ''Go Pro Baseball Wise'', 1999.</ref>
Even after his conversion to pitching, he occasionally came off the bench to [[pinch hitter|pinch-hit]] against right-handed pitchers, finishing his career with a collective .179 [[batting average (baseball)|average]] with two [[home run]]s and 25 [[runs batted in]] through 269 games as a hitter.
== Coaching career ==
Following his playing career, Queen managed a friend's seafood restaurant and was thus able to spend more time with his wife Gail and their three children. Queen joined the Indians' organization in 1979 as a minor league pitching coach after former manager [[Dave Bristol]] recommended him, and had a stint on their major league staff in 1982.<ref name="sabr.org"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.baseballchronology.com/Baseball/Teams/Cleveland/Seasons/1982.asp?sNode=1&Exp=Y |title=1982 Indians at Baseball Chronology |access-date=May 15, 2011 |archive-date=October 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003174744/http://www.baseballchronology.com/Baseball/Teams/Cleveland/Seasons/1982.asp?sNode=1&Exp=Y |url-status=live }}</ref> He later joined the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] organization, serving as [[manager (baseball)|manager]] of the [[Bakersfield Dodgers]] in 1985.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thebaseballcube.com/profile.asp?P=Mel-Queen-1 |title=Mel Queen Statistics at The Baseball Cube |access-date=May 15, 2011 |archive-date=July 17, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717174038/http://www.thebaseballcube.com/profile.asp?P=Mel-Queen-1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 1986, Queen joined the [[Toronto Blue Jays]], where he would play a significant role in the development of the homegrown players during their 11 straight winning seasons. He started as a coach, being promoted as their farm director in 1990 and served as their major league pitching coach from 1996 through 1999. During his four seasons in that role, two Toronto hurlers won three consecutive [[Cy Young Award]]s as the top pitcher in the [[American League]] — [[Pat Hentgen]] in 1996 and [[Roger Clemens]] in the 1997 and 1998 seasons.
In addition, Queen was instrumental in helping shape the careers of a number of top Blue Jays players, to include pitchers [[Chris Carpenter]], [[Pat Hentgen]], [[Todd Stottlemyre]], [[Mike Timlin]], [[David Wells]] and [[Woody Williams]]; infielders [[Alex Gonzalez (shortstop, born 1973)|Alex Gonzalez]] and [[Jeff Kent]], as well as outfielders [[Shawn Green]] and [[Shannon Stewart (baseball)|Shannon Stewart]], among some other notables.
Queen also served as the Blue Jays interim [[manager (baseball)|manager]] for the final five games of the 1997 season after [[Cito Gaston]] was let go, and later became a scout for the organization.
Nevertheless, one of his major achievements came in 2000, when the Blue Jays coaxed him out of retirement to help revive the sagging career of [[Roy Halladay]], by then a 23-year-old pitcher. Queen met Halladay in [[Dunedin, Florida]], where the Jays had sent their once-promising hurler after his ERA had soared to 10.64 in the major leagues, at which he ran a virtual boot camp for Halladay, rebuilding his delivery, teaching him new grips for his pitches and helping him develop a new mental approach.<ref name="NPobit">{{cite web |url=http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/05/13/mel-queen-former-jays-coach-dies-at-69/ |title=National Post – Mel Queen Obituary |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129213724/http://sports.nationalpost.com/2011/05/13/mel-queen-former-jays-coach-dies-at-69/ |archive-date=January 29, 2013 }}</ref>
"There's no one I made that drastic a change to and verbally abused the way I did Doc", Queen explained after Halladay won his first Cy Young Award in 2003. "There aren’t many people that would have gone through what I put him through. I had to make him understand that he was very unintelligent about baseball. He had no idea about the game", he added.<ref name="NPobit"/>
In 2009, then Toronto's [[general manager (baseball)|general manager]] [[J. P. Ricciardi]] brought Queen out of retirement again to serve as a senior advisor, working on special assignments with minor league pitchers, retaining that position for the rest of his life.<ref name="NPobit"/>
===Managerial record===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular season !! colspan="4"|Postseason
|-
!Games!!Won!!Lost!!Win %!!Finish!! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result
|-
|-
![[1997 Toronto Blue Jays season|TOR]]|| {{mlby|1997}}
||5||{{WinLossPct|4|1}}|| 5th in AL East || – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|Total ||5||{{WinLossPct|4|1}}|| || {{WinLossPct|0|0}} ||
|}
== Personal life ==
Queen's brother-in-law was Jim Lonborg, whose sister Celia Queen married and had a son, Steven Queen. Lonborg had also been Queen's high school teammate. Lonborg pitched from 1965 to 1979 for the [[Boston Red Sox]], [[Milwaukee Brewers]] and [[Philadelphia Phillies]].<ref name=BRMaj/><ref name="dougwilsonbaseball.blogspot.com"/>
Mel Queen was a longtime resident of [[Morro Bay, California]], where he died at age 69 on May 11, 2011, as a result of complications from cancer.
He was survived by his second wife of 44 years, Gail, his daughter Shirlee and her two children, Tanner and Rocky, as well as his son Jeffrey Todd Queen and his two children, Ashley and Jeffrey, as well as his son Steven from his first marriage.  He is also survived by two stepsons and seven step-grandchildren .<ref name="sabr.org"/><ref>{{cite web|publisher=sanluisobispo.com|url=http://www.sanluisobispo.com/sports/high-school/article39152208.html|title=Former SLO High standout Mel Queen succumbs to cancer|date=May 13, 2011|access-date=March 25, 2016}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[List of second-generation Major League Baseball players]]
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
{{baseballstats|br=q/queenme02|brm=queen-001mel}}, or [https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Q/Pqueem102.htm Retrosheet]
*[http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/9c526ed6 SABR Biography Project]
*[https://www.pelotabinaria.com.ve/beisbol/mostrar.php?ID=queemel001 Venezuelan Winter League]
{{Toronto Blue Jays managers|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen, Mel}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball people in Canada]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Mexico]]
[[Category:Baseball coaches from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Baseball players from New York (state)]]
[[Category:California Angels players]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in California]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds players]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians coaches]]
[[Category:Florida Instructional League Astros/Reds players]]
[[Category:Indianapolis Indians players]]
[[Category:Macon Peaches players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitching coaches]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball left fielders]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball right fielders]]
[[Category:Palatka Redlegs players]]
[[Category:People from Johnson City, New York]]
[[Category:People from Morro Bay, California]]
[[Category:Petroleros de Poza Rica players]]
[[Category:Salt Lake City Angels players]]
[[Category:San Diego Padres (minor league) players]]
[[Category:Seattle Rainiers players]]
[[Category:Baseball players from San Luis Obispo County, California]]
[[Category:Syracuse Chiefs managers]]
[[Category:Tigres de Aragua players]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela]]
[[Category:Topeka Reds players]]
[[Category:Toronto Blue Jays coaches]]
[[Category:Toronto Blue Jays executives]]
[[Category:Toronto Blue Jays managers]]
[[Category:Toronto Blue Jays scouts]]