"The former Cleveland Indian, acquired in March 1989, produced both offensively and defensively for the Pinstripers last season. Known more for his hitting ability, the 29-year-old outfielder/DH made enormous strides defensively in left field with his consistent and sometimes brilliant play. From the plate, Hall made his home runs count as the Yankees went 15-1 in games he went deep.
Look for Hall to fill in as the fourth outfielder and, depending on Dave Winfield's status, he could see more time in left. Between his slow saunter to the plate and his colorful style, Mel Hall made a lasting impression Yankee fans are anxious to see more of."
-The New York Yankees Official 1989 Yearbook
"Hall was acquired from the Cleveland Indians on March 19, 1989 in exchange for catcher Joel Skinner and outfielder Turner Ward. He started out slowly, appearing in 15 games and hitting .258 (8-for-31) with two RBIs for the month of April. He made six starts, all in right field. Mel went on the disabled list on April 26 with a pulled right hamstring; the injury occurred on April 25 in Kansas City while he was trying to score from first base on a double and was hurt rounding third base.
He was reinstated on May 26 and hit in seven straight games from May 30-June 10 (11-for-26, .423) with three home runs and eight RBIs, raising his batting average 82 points from .235 to .317. From June 4-8, Hall hit home runs in three consecutive games for the third time in his career and the first time by a Yankee since Don Mattingly hit in eight straight in 1987. From June 4-13 he had an RBI in seven straight games and from June 22-28 hit in six straight (7-for-25, .280) with a homer and seven RBIs. On June 24 Mel hit a grand slam at Kansas City off Kevin Appier, his first since August 29, 1983 when, as a Cub, he hit one off Atlanta's Phil Niekro; it was also the second and final grand slam by a Yankee in 1989. For the month of June, Mel hit .288 with five home runs and 18 RBIs, raising his overall average from .250 to .274.
He maintained his average and power in July, hitting .278 with four home runs and 12 RBIs. At the break, he was hitting .279 with seven home runs and 25 RBIs over 46 games, averaging one RBI every 5.4 at-bats. August was his busiest month as he appeared in 28 games (24 starts- 13 LF, 9 DH, 2 RF), hitting .270 with a home run and 11 RBIs. Mel hit in a season best nine straight games from August 26-September 6 (12-for-33, .364) and in 12 of 13 games from August 26-September 10 (15-for-47, .319). He also scored a run in seven straight games (10 total) from August 26-September 6. On September 1 and 2, he homered in consecutive games against California- the second one, off Mike Witt in the bottom of the ninth, was the game-winner in a 2-1 Yankee win.
Hall went into a 10-game slump from September 12-25, hitting .083 (3-for-36) and dropping his average from .272 to .252. On September 21 in New York in the first game of a twin-bill with the Brewers, he was ejected for being involved in an incident when Luis Polonia was hit by a Mark Knudsen pitch. On September 29 against Detroit, Mel hit a pair of home runs off Jack Morris, the eighth two-homer game of his career and his first since September 29, 1987. He hit in five straight (8-for-20) to end the season and raise his average 10 points to .260.
He had 21 multi-hit games in 1989 and hit .267 with runners in scoring position. He hit .284 with 16 home runs and 47 RBIs against right-handed pitchers and .159 with a home run and 11 RBIs against left-handers. He hit .282 with 11 home runs and 29 RBIs in Yankee Stadium and .233 with six homers and 29 RBIs on the road. The Yankees were 15-1 when Mel homered. His season average was 21 points lower than his career average entering 1989, yet his strikeout to at-bat ratio (1.9:8) was a career low.
Mel signed a three-year contract in November 1989. The contract extends through 1992 season.
He was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 2nd round of the June 1978 free agent draft. Hall was a Gulf Coast League All-Star at Bradenton that year, leading outfielders in putouts (97) and total chances (102) while finishing sixth in the loop with a .290 batting average. For Geneva in 1979, he was named to the New York-Penn League All-Star team and was tied for second in the league in doubles (18), fifth in RBIs (53) and 10th in batting (.315).
At Class A Quad City in 1980 Hall was the Midwest League's fourth-best hitter (.294) and was second in the league in fielding (.973) among outfielders. In 1981, he led the AA Texas League in hits (170) and total bases (286) while tying for the league lead in runs scored (98). He hit .319 with 24 homers and 95 RBIs at Midland and earned a September promotion to the Cubs, his first appearance in the big leagues.
Mel's final season of minor league action, in 1982, was also his best. He led AAA Iowa in homers (32), RBIs (125), hits (165), runs (116), doubles (34) and game-winning RBIs (17). He led the American Association in the three latter departments and was named to the All-Star squad. He hit .329 and was tabbed as the league's Rookie of the Year.
Mel had a fine rookie season with the Cubs in 1983, batting .283 with 17 home runs and 56 RBIs in 112 games, and finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year balloting. He was the NL's Player of the Month for August when he hit .333 with nine homers and 17 RBIs- the first NL rookie to win that award since Fernando Valenzuela in April 1981- and hit his first major league grand slam off Phil Niekro.
On June 13, 1984, Hall was traded with outfielder Joe Carter and pitchers Don Schulze and Darryl Banks to the Cleveland Indians for catcher Ron Hassey and pitchers Rick Sutcliffe and George Frazier. He hit his first American League home run against Minnesota on June 27, a game-winner in the 10th inning off Ron Davis. He had five RBIs that night.
He was leading the Indians with a .318 average in 1985 when he was felled in a freak car accident on May 9 in Texas. Mel was sidelined for the remainder of the season with a fractured left clavicle, a fractured right side of the pelvic bone, a slight concussion and a neck strain. He returned to Cleveland in mid-September and took batting practice and also spent a week at the Tribe's Florida League Instructional League complex.
In 1986 Mel set career highs in batting average (.296), homers (18) and RBIs (77). In a 50-game span he batted .346 with 12 homers, 47 RBIs and 34 runs.
He tied his career best in 1987 with 18 homers and was tied for eighth among AL outfielders with a .989 fielding percentage. In a 63-game stretch from July 7-September 25, Mel hit .340 with nine homers and 44 RBIs. In a three-game set against Minnesota from September 11-13, he batted .600 (9-for-15) with four homers and six RBIs; Mel was named American Player of the Week for September 7-13. He hit his first career home run off a left-handed pitcher on September 25 off Gary Lucas of the Angels (after 170 previous career at-bats against lefties).
Mel had the most playing time of his career in 1988 and set season highs in most offensive departments, but his home run output (6) was a career low. Mel set career highs in games (150), at-bats (515), runs (69), hits (144), doubles (32), triples (4), stolen bases (7) and game-winning RBIs (5) and ranked third on the club with 71 RBIs. He struck out just 50 times and led the club with 12 intentional walks.
Named a co-captain on April 4, Hall batted .333 (21-for-63) with nine RBIs through April 24, endured a 27-for-119 (.227) slide in his next 38 games, through June 9, with no homers and nine RBIs, then hit .381 (24-for-63) from June 10-29. Included in that span was his first home run of the season, on June 23 off Rick Rhoden at Yankee Stadium, his first homer since the previous October 4 (in 223 at-bats).
Mel hit .352 in 43 games from June 10-July 31 with four homers and 28 RBIs, raising his batting average from .264 to .305. This included a career-high 16 straight games from July 3-20 (23-for-66, .348) with two homers and 13 RBIs. He hit an inside-the-park home run on July 6 against Oakland, the first by an Indian since Joe Carter's on September 10, 1985 and the first in Cleveland since Andre Thornton's on August 29, 1977. Mel hit the homer off Rick Honeycutt, just his second career homer off a southpaw.
He had another hot streak in August, batting .339 in 17 games from the 12th to the 30th with eight doubles, a homer and 15 RBIs. He cooled off in September/October, batting .184 in 25 games with a homer and nine RBIs. He hit his last homer on September 4 against Chicago, his only one after August 16.
For the 1988 season, Mel tied for second best on the Indians with a .290 average (40-for-138) and 63 RBIs with runners in scoring position and was 3-for-7 with eight RBIs with the bases loaded; in bases-loaded situations since 1986, Mel is 11-for-26 (.423) with 26 RBIs. He was tops on the club in driving home runners from third with less than two out, being successful 24 of 32 times. He was third on the club with 41 multi-hit games but against left-handers was 5-for-46 with a home run, five RBIs, three walks and seven strikeouts.
Mel graduated in 1978 from Port Byron (NY) High School where he was a baseball All-American. He was All-State twice in football and once in basketball. He played Little League, Babe Ruth, and American Legion ball as a youngster. Hall's father, Mel Sr., played minor league baseball, and a cousin, Oscar Bennett, was an infielder in the Oakland organization."
-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide
Led Texas League in total bases (286) in 1981.
Led Texas League outfielders in total chances (324) and double plays (5), 1981.
Led American Association in game-winning RBIs (17), 1982.
Led American Association outfielders in total chances (339), 1982.
-1990 New York Yankees Information Guide
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