Mel Hall

This article is about the late-20th-century baseball player. For the 20th-century unicyclist, see Melvin Hall.

Mel Hall
Outfielder
Born: September 16, 1960 (1960-09-16) (age 51) Lyons, New York
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
September 3, 1981 for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
May 21, 1996 for the San Francisco Giants
Career statistics
Batting average	.276
Home runs	134
Runs batted in	620
Teams
Chicago Cubs (1981–1984) Cleveland Indians (1984–1988) New York Yankees (1989–1992) Chiba Lotte Marines (1993–1994) Chunichi Dragons (1995) San Francisco Giants (1996)

Melvin Hall Jr. (born September 16, 1960 in Lyons, New York) is a former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1996 with the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and San Francisco Giants. He also played in Japan from 1993-1995. He primarily played as an outfielder.

Playing career

Hall made his Major League Baseball debut in 1981 with the Chicago Cubs. In his first full Major League season in 1983, Hall hit 17 home runs in 112 games. In 1987, he had the best range factor of all MLB left-fielders. 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.^[1] In 1992, Hall hit 15 home runs, drove in a career-high 81 RBI's and had a career high of 163 hits in 152 games with the New York Yankees. Following the season, the 32-year-old opted to leave the major leagues, agreeing to a 2-year $4 million contract to play in Japan.^[2] When he returned to play for the San Francisco Giants in 1996, Hall registered just three singles in 25 games with the big league club, retiring shortly thereafter.^[3]

Prison

Hall was arrested in Lewisville, Texas on June 21, 2007 and charged with two counts of sexual assault after North Richland Hills, Texas police received a report from a woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted in March 1999, when she was under the age of 17. During the investigation, a second alleged victim under the age of 14 was identified.^[4] 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. He must serve 22 years and 4 months before he is eligible for parole.^[5]

References

1. ^ Joel Sherman (2006). Birth of a Dynasty: Behind the Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees. ISBN 978-1594866708. 
2. ^ "Mel Hall Goes to Japan". The New York Times. November 17, 1992. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE6DD173CF934A25752C1A964958260. 
3. ^ Mel Hall Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
4. ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i76hjSuax32nMrbm09sEjbJr-AEAD98RUHM80
5. ^ Mel Hall Convicted In Sex Case

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Mel Hall Hassles Williams

Preceded by Dusty Baker

National League Player of the Month August, 1983

Succeeded by Dale Murphy

Persondata
Name	Hall, Mel
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 16, 1960
Place of birth	Lyons, New York
Date of death
Place of death