Mel Didier

Sport: Baseball

Induction Year: 2003

University: LSUUL-Lafayette

Induction Year: 2003

A longtime major league baseball executive and scout, Mel Didier has served as Assistant General Manager for Arizona, the Los Angeles Dodgers (twice), the Baltimore Orioles, and as Director of Minor League Operations and Scouting Director for two expansion teams, Montreal (1969-75) and Seattle (1977-78), and is now working for the Texas Rangers. He is best known for his scouting report which Kirk Gibson credited for his dramatic 1988 World Series Game One-winning pinch-hit home run, voted one of the 10 Most Exciting Moments in World Series History. Among the major league stars he helped develop were Mike Piazza, Andre Dawson and Gary Carter. Didier was a third-team (UPI) football All-American at LSU in 1945, and captain of the Tigers’ SEC-champion baseball team in 1947. He founded the Louisiana High School All-Star Baseball Game in 1981 while baseball coach at USL (83-35 in two years). Didier also coached at Southeastern and served as athletic director at USL in 1981-82.