Former American League home run king has pa sed away at 79. The White Sox announced the news on Thursday afternoon. Melton, a righty hitter, signed with the Sox as an 18-year-old. The 62, 200-pound slugger hit his way to the big leagues by the end of the 1968 season. He opened the following year as Chicagos third baseman. It was the first of seven consecutive Opening Day starts for Melton, who developed into a potent power bat. After hitting 23 home runs during his first full season, Melton posted consecutive 33-homer showings in 1970 and 71. That was enough to lead the AL in the latter season. Only seven hitters combined for more longballs over that two-year stretch: , , , , , and . Those players were all multi-time All-Stars; Coco Crisp Jersey all but May and Howard made the Hall of Fame. Melton turned in a .266/.346/.490 slash line and drove in 182 runs over those two seasons. The career-best showing in 71 earned him an All-Star nod and a 13th-place finish in MVP voting. Injury limited him to 57 games the following year, but he managed two more 20-homer seasons thereafter. Melton remained a capable hitter through the end of the 1975 season. The Sox traded him to the Angels at that point. He spent one season in California and played one year for the Indians before retiring. Melton played parts of 10 seasons in the majors. He recorded just over 1000 hits, including 160 homers. Melton hit .253/.337/.419 acro s more than 4500 trips to the plate. He scored 496 runs and drove in 591. Beltin Bill held the Soxs record for career home runs at the time of his retirement. He still ranks ninth in franchise history in that regard. Melton returned to the organization as a television analyst between 1998 and 2020. Bill Melton enjoyed two tremendous careers with the White Sox, the teams owner Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. His first came as a celebrated home run king for White Sox teams in the early 1970s, where Beltin Bill brought power to a franchise that played its home games in a pitcher-friendly ballpark. Bills second career came as a well-liked and respected pre- and postgame television analyst, where on a nightly basis Sox fans saw his pa sion for the team, win or lose. Bill was a friend to many at the White Sox and around baseball, and his booming voice will be mi sed. MLBTR joins others around the game in sending our condolences to his family, friends, loved ones and former teammates. Austin Adams Jersey