Former major league player and broadcaster Bill Melton died Thursday morning in Phoenix following a brief illness, the Chicago White Sox announced. He was 79.
Born in Gulfport, Mississippi, Melton signed with the White Sox as a free agent out of high school in 1964, the year before MLB implemented the amateur draft. He made his MLB debut in 1968 and quickly became one of the team's most productive players, slashing .255/.326/.433 with 23 home runs in 1969, his first full big-league season.
Melton had the two best seasons of his career in 1970 and 1971, authoring a .266/.346/.490 batting line those two years and hitting 33 home runs in each season. His 33 homers in 1971 led the American League and earned Melton his only career All-Star Game selection. He also received MVP votes that year.
From 1968-75, Melton hit .254/.340/.432 with 154 home runs in 976 games with the White Sox, and those 154 homers stood as the franchise record until Harold Baines hit his 155th White Sox homer in 1987. Melton is currently ninth on the franchise home run leaderboard.
The White Sox traded Melton to the California Angels in December 1975, and then Angels then traded him to Cleveland a year later. Melton retired following his 1977 season with Cleveland as a career .253/.337/.419 hitter with 1,004 hits and 160 home runs.
Following his playing career, Melton was a popular pre- and postgame analyst on WGN and Comcast SportsNet Chicago. He also did community relations work with the White Sox.
