For the next part of my blog about the SF Giants, I will be
discussing the events between 1940 and 1940, starting with the 1942 season.
(1942)
Mel Ott 1926-1947
Mel Ott takes over the reign of manager for the Giants. Ott had
been a Giant for 22 years where he played right field. Ott managed while he
played, where he compiled an NL best 30 home runs and 118 runs in the season.
Other than this, the Giants lost many players to the military service because of
the war years. Players like Harry Danning, Babe Young and Williard Marshall
were all called to duty. The Giants lost 98 games in the campaign.
(1948)
The Giants made a stunning move where they hired former Dodgers
manager Leo Durocher as the manger. Durocher replaced Ott as manager. Durocher
stated in 1946 that “nice guys finish last.” This phrase was directed toward
Ott. The new manager, over the next few years, shaped the Giants team which was
built on speed and aggressiveness instead of all the power they had.
The 1940’s really didn’t prove to be so
magical for the Giants as they collected no titles or championships, which was
really strange since they were such a dominant team in the earlier years. It’s
funny that I blog about Mel Ott, because as of today, it is Mel Ott’s birthday
which is pretrty cool. I think even though no one agreed with the hiring of a
Dodgers manager because of the rivalry, it turned out to be pretty good for the
Giants, as their history gets better in the 1950’s.
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