Mel Ott, the quiet, serious-looking player who has been a Polo Grounds hero since 1926, is back again this year ready to swing that right leg upward as he lashes out at the baseball. A great outfielder, Mel is starting his 16th season with the Giants and may have one of his best years if condition means anything. He hit .289 last year but brought across 79 runs. while scoring 89 himself and his 19 home runs. brought his total for 15 years to 388, an aver- age of close to 30 a season, and the National League record. His hit total is 2216, second only to Lloyd Waner among the active players, and he tops the league in runs batted in with 1465.