Mel Held

Mel Held
Pitcher
Born: April 12, 1929 (1929-04-12) (age 82) Edon, Ohio
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 27, 1956 for the Baltimore Orioles
Last MLB appearance
May 13, 1956 for the Baltimore Orioles
Career statistics
Win-Loss record	0–0
Earned run average	5.14
Innings pitched	7
Teams
Baltimore Orioles (1956)

Melvin Nicholas Held (born April 12, 1929, at Edon, Ohio) is a retired American professional baseball player. He appeared in four Major League Baseball games as a relief pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles at the outset of the 1956 season, and had a 13-year career in minor league baseball. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 178 pounds (81 kg).

Held, nicknamed "Country," was a nine-year minor league veteran when he pitched for the Orioles in 1956, having signed with the team when it was the St. Louis Browns in 1947. A sparkling 1955 season for the San Antonio Missions of the Class AA Texas League — he posted a 24–7 won-lost record and a 2.87 earned run average — earned him a call-up to Baltimore the following year.

In his first two MLB games, on April 27–28, Held pitched a total of three innings of scoreless relief against the Washington Senators. But in his next two appearances, in May against the first-division Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees, Held surrendered four earned runs and five hits in four innings.^[1] Altogether, Held gave up seven hits in seven innings pitched in MLB, with three walks and four strikeouts.

Held was sent back to the minor leagues for good at the May cutdown. His career continued through 1959, and he won 131 minor-league games.^[2]

References

1. ^ Retrosheet
2. ^ Minor league statistics from Baseball Reference

External links

• Major League record and career statistics from Baseball Reference

Persondata
Name	Held, Mel
Alternative names
Short description	American baseball player
Date of birth	April 12, 1929
Place of birth	Edon, Ohio
Date of death
Place of death