MLB is mourning the loss of one of its greats.
On Thursday, December 5, former Chicago White Sox All-Star Bill Melton passed away in Phoenix, Arizona after a brief illness. He was 79 years old.
Melton, often known as “Beltin’ Bill” or “Beltin’ Melton”, was a third baseman for the Chicago White Sox from 1968 to 1977. He was named the American League home run champion in 1971 and was named to their All-Star team that same year. He remained the White Sox’s home run leader until 1987, when he was surpassed by Harold Baines.
He retired from baseball in 1977, five years after herniating two discs while trying to save his son from falling off a roof – an injury that significantly reduced his performance.
Bill Melton.
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After retiring, Melton held several different jobs – one of which was assisting Michael Jordan during his brief stint as a baseball player in 1993.
“My job was just to show him setups, watch a lot of video of some guys that I liked, that I thought had good swings, good setups…,” Melton told MLB 2020. “So my deal was just simply to get him ready for spring training and talk to him.”
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Michael Jordan plays baseball.
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Jordan, 61, who joined the NBA in 1984, famously retired from basketball in 1993, shortly after his father’s murder. A few months later, on February 7, 1994, Jordan, then 31 years old, signed a minor league baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox, and went on to play for their AA affiliate, the Birmingham Barons.
“I thought MJ, he had the speed, he had the arm, he’d probably have the power for sure, but it takes over a year to figure out what you’re doing,” Melton told WGN in 2020.
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“He was there, full-throated, interested, never missed a day, punctual, on time, and had a real interest in wanting to play Major League Baseball,” the All-Star told MLB.
Jordan, who gave baseball a chance as a tribute to his late father, retired from the sport in 1995 and returned to play basketball for the Chicago Bulls midway through their 1994-95 season, remaining with them until 1998.
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After working with Jordan, Melton became the White Sox pregame and postgame television analyst for WGN in 1998 and later joined NBC Sports Chicago in 2005. He retired from broadcasting in 2020.
“Bill Melton, who played 10 seasons in the major leagues, including eight with the White Sox, and served as a popular pre- and postgame analyst for White Sox telecasts for more than two decades, died early this morning in Phoenix after a brief illness. He had 79 years,” the White Sox said in an official statement on Xu (formerly Twitter).
Team president Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement to Fox News: “Bill Melton enjoyed two great careers with the White Sox. The first was as the famous home run king for the White Sox teams of the early 1970s, where ‘Beltin Bill’ brought power to a franchise that played its home games in a pitcher-friendly stadium.”
“Bill’s second career came as a beloved and respected pregame and postgame television analyst, where Sox fans saw his passion for the team every night, win or lose,” added Reinsdorf, 88. “Bill was a friend to many in the White Sox and around baseball, and his booming voice will be missed.”
Melton is survived by his wife Tess and two children, son Billy and daughter Jennifer.
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