Mel Ott Made Home Run History as a 20-Year-Old...& His Record Is Still Standing
Mel Ott’s 1929 breakout wasn’t just historic—he set a record that still hasn't been touched nearly 100 years later.
One would think it’s pretty hard to hit 511 homers during a big-league career and somehow fly under the radar. That’s exactly what happened to Hall of Famer Mel Ott, though. (At least, I think so.)
The 11-time All-Star played for 22 seasons, all of which were with the New York Giants. While he led the league in homers six different times — including each year from 1936–38 — it feels like he was still overshadowed.
That’ll happen when your career coincides with the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, and Rogers Hornsby, to name a few.
Ott enjoyed seven performances of at least 30 homers during his career. He eclipsed the 40-homer plateau just once. But he timed it so perfectly that he still holds a record nearly 100 years after he initially set it!
Looking Back at Mel Ott’s Historic 1929 Season
The stock market might’ve crashed in 1929, but the same couldn’t be said about Ott’s performance. He made his big-league debut with the Giants in 1926 at the young age of 17!
Ott eclipsed 100 games played for the first time in ’28 when he appeared in 124 contests. That amount of playing time produced a .322/.397/.524 line with 18 homers, 26 doubles, 77 RBI, and 69 runs scored. I would consider that a breakout performance, but it pales in comparison to what he did the following season.
A 20-year-old Ott appeared in 150 games while slashing .328/.499/.635 with 42 homers, 37 doubles, 151 RBI, 138 runs scored, and a league-leading 113 walks. While he only finished 11th in MVP Award voting, Ott became the youngest player in MLB history to record a 40-homer season.
And in case you were wondering, those 151 RBI are also the most ever by a 20-year-old.
The Giants played their home games at the Polo Grounds, and the odd dimensions didn’t bother the left-handed slugger one bit. He split his games played down the middle in 1929 (75 at home and 75 on the road), and he did just about the same thing with his homer production, hitting 20 at home and 22 on the road.
What I love to do in these situations is compare a breakout season to the cumulative production before the breakout. Look at how stark it is for Ott:
1926–28: .318/.382/.479 with 19 homers, 35 doubles, 100 RBI, & 99 runs scored in 741 plate appearances
1929: .328/.499/.635 with 42 homers, 37 doubles, 151 RBI, & 138 runs scored in 675 plate appearances.
So, his 1929 performance outpaced what he did in the three prior seasons despite stepping to the plate 66 fewer times.
Other Players Who Have Come Close to Ott’s Record
We’ve seen other players storm onto the big-league scene with more thump than Ott. Mark McGwire (49), Aaron Judge (52), and Pete Alonso (53) all collected more homers than Ott in their rookie season. But, of course, none of them were close to his age upon accomplishing what they did (McGwire was 23, Judge was 25, and Alonso was 24).
Here’s the rest of the top 10 behind Ott, displaying the players who came closest to matching or breaking his record:
Ronald Acuña Jr.: 41 homers in 2019 as a 21-year-old
Eddie Mathews: 47 homers in 1953 as a 21-year-old
Fernando Tatis Jr.: 42 homers in 2021 as a 22-year-old
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: 48 homers in 2021 as a 22-year-old
Bryce Harper: 42 homers in 2015 as a 22-year-old
Alex Rodriguez: 42 homers in 1998 as a 22-year-old
Juan Gonzalez: 43 homers in 1992 as a 22-year-old
Johnny Bench: 45 homers in 1970 as a 22-year-old
Eddie Mathews: 40 homers in 1954 as a 22-year-old
If there’s any era in baseball that has a good shot at least matching Ott’s record, it’s the one we’re currently watching. However, the fact that this dude’s historic season has stood by itself for nearly a century is unbelievable to think about.
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Never knew that about Mel Ott! I had a choice of buying a 1939 Play Ball Hank Greenberg, or a 1939 Play Ball Melvin Ott for about 70% of the Greenberg price. The Greenie had some surface issues, but I always loved Greenberg's story. This article makes me think I should've bought both!