San Francisco Giants: Top 30 players of all-time

NY/SF Giants best players all-time: No. 2-Mel Ott

110.5 WAR

Mel Ott comes in at No. 2, just in front of Mathewson due to the fact he was a position player and therefore, his wins above replacement is significantly higher.

Ott played exclusively for the New York Giants from 1926-1947, winning a World Series in 1933. He was a six-time NL home run leader (1932, 1934, 1936-1938, 1942) as well as being the NL RBI leader in 1934.

Ott actually got denied by his hometown minor league team, the New Orleans Pelicans, because the team was concerned about his size.

But Giants manager John McGraw ended up giving Ott a tryout and he was immediately impressed by his offensive talent, so much so that he signed Ott in January of 1926.

Known for his power hitting, he moved to the outfield from catcher and it paid off. He at one point held the all-time record for NL home runs starting in 1937 until Willie Mays passed him in 1966.

In his only World Series title (1933), he recorded four hits in Game 1, including a home run in the second inning. A few games later in Game 5, he drove in the series-clinching run in the 10th inning.

He played in three more World Series and finished with a batting average of .295 with four home runs in 16 career World Series games.

He wasn’t just outstanding in the postseason, though. He was able to have a batting average north of .300 on 10 occasions over the span of his 22-year career.

Ott was welcomed into the Hall of Fame in 1951 when he received more than 87 percent of the vote from the BBWAA voters.