Mel Hall (born Melvin Hall Jr., September 16, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1981 to 1996 and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 1993 to 1995. He was convicted in 2009 on multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child, and is currently serving a 45-year prison sentence.
Baseball Career
Hall was born in Lyons, New York, and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the second round of the 1978 MLB June Amateur Draft. He made his MLB debut on September 3, 1981, with the Cubs. Over 13 MLB seasons, he played for the Chicago Cubs (1981–1984), Cleveland Indians (1984–1988), New York Yankees (1989–1992), and San Francisco Giants (1996). He primarily played as an outfielder.
In 1,276 career MLB games, Hall recorded a .276 batting average with 1,171 hits, 134 home runs, 620 RBIs, and 568 runs scored. His best season was 1983 with the Cubs, when he hit 17 home runs with a .283/.352/.488 slash line and finished third in National League Rookie of the Year voting. In 1987, he led all MLB left fielders in fielding percentage and range factor.
On June 13, 1984, the Cubs traded Hall, Joe Carter, Don Schulze, and Darryl Banks to the Cleveland Indians for Rick Sutcliffe, Ron Hassey, and George Frazier. On March 19, 1989, Cleveland traded Hall to the New York Yankees for Turner Ward and Joel Skinner.
After the 1992 season, Hall signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball. He also played for the Chunichi Dragons in 1995. In NPB, he batted .278 with 64 home runs and 207 RBIs. He returned to MLB with the San Francisco Giants in 1996 but was released after hitting .120 in 25 games.
Criminal 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 stated 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.
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. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison, with a minimum of 22 years and 4 months before becoming eligible for parole. He is incarcerated at the H. H. Coffield Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Tennessee Colony, Texas. His earliest possible parole date is November 15, 2031.
