{{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, 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 |stat1value=.276 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=134 |stat3label=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 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. In 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. 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">{{cite web |author= |date= |title=Mel Hall Stats - Baseball-Reference.com |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hallme01.shtml |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>
On June 13, 1984, the Cubs traded Hall along with Joe Carter, Don Schulze, and Darryl Banks to the Cleveland Indians for Rick Sutcliffe, Ron Hassey, and George Frazier.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Garrity |first=John |date=1984-09-03 |title=The trade that made the Cubs |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1984/09/03/the-trade-that-made-the-cubs |magazine=Sports Illustrated}}</ref> On March 19, 1989, Cleveland traded Hall to the New York Yankees for Turner Ward and Joel Skinner.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 19, 1989 |title=The New York Yankees Sunday acquired outfielder Mel Hall... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/03/19/The-New-York-Yankees-Sunday-acquired-outfielder-Mel-Hall/1417606286800/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |agency=United Press International}}</ref>
In 1991, when Bernie Williams was a rookie, Hall taunted him by giving him the nickname "Zero". Hall reportedly would scream "Shut up, Zero!" whenever Williams would talk, nearly making him cry.<ref>{{cite book |author=Sherman |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Sherman (sportswriter) |url=https://archive.org/details/birthofdynastybe0000sher |title=Birth of a Dynasty: Behind the Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees |publisher=Rodale Books |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-59486-670-8 |pages=198, 199 |url-access=registration}}</ref> In {{baseball year|1992}}, Hall hit 15 home runs, drove in a career-high 81 RBI 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 |last=Hanlon |first=Greg |date=15 July 2014 |title=The many crimes of Mel Hall |url=https://www.sbnation.com/2014/7/15/5883593/the-many-crimes-of-mel-hall |website=SB Nation}}</ref> That season he earned $1.2 million.<ref name="baseball-reference.com" />
Hall became a free agent following the 1992 season. When no major league team showed interest in him, the 32-year-old Hall agreed to a two-year, $4 million contract with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.<ref name="auto" /><ref>{{cite news |date=November 17, 1992 |title=Mel Hall Goes to Japan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/17/sports/mel-hall-goes-to-japan.html |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> In 1995, he played for the Chunichi Dragons. He returned to MLB to play for the San Francisco Giants in 1996, but was released a month into the season after hitting 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 the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. He retired shortly thereafter.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Mel Hall Minor, Japanese & Independent Leagues Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=hall--001mel |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref name="auto" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mel Hall Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hallme01.shtml |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> Hall played for three teams in the independent Central Baseball League in 2002 and 2003.<ref name=":0" />
==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 news |date=2007-06-24 |title=Ex-Yank Hall busted on sex rap |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-ex-yank-hall-busted-on-sex-ra/176114704/ |access-date=2025-07-07 |work=New York Daily News |pages=61 |agency=Associated Press}}</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 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/ |access-date=14 June 2012 |work=CBS News |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Hall is currently serving his sentence at H. H. Coffield Unit in Tennessee Colony, Texas; his earliest possible parole will be November 15, 2031.<ref>{{cite web |author= |date= |title=Inmate Information Details: Hall, Melvin Jr. |url=https://inmate.tdcj.texas.gov/InmateSearch/viewDetail.action?sid=06023953 |website=Texas Department of Criminal Justice Inmate Search}}</ref>
In 2014, ''SB Nation'' published a 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, former MLB player convicted of sexual assault *Luis Polonia, former MLB 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 = 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 Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:21st-century American sportsmen Category:Sportspeople convicted of sex crimes