Selected in the first round, second overall, by the Detroit Tigers in the secondary phase of the 1981 draft, Melvin was a catcher for the Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Chicago White Sox during a 10-year playing career from 1985 through 1994.

In his 20-year managing career Melvin has led the Seattle Mariners (2003–04), Arizona Diamondbacks (2005–09), Oakland Athletics (2011–21), and San Diego Padres (2022–23).

He had an aggregate career record of 1,517–1,425 (.516) in 20 seasons as a Major League manager, and had led his clubs to eight postseason appearances and four division titles.

[11][12] The others were Gabe Kapler, Brad Ausmus, Jeff Newman, Norm Sherry, Lefty Phillips, and Lipman Pike.

[4][13] He resides in Berkeley, California, and in Greenwich Village in New York City, with his wife Kelley, whom he met in 1982 when he was 21 years of age.

As a freshman, he helped lead Cal to a 44–23–1 (.654) record and a third-place finish at the College World Series in 1980.

As a Tiger, he backed up Lance Parrish, and as a Giant, he served as the backup for fellow catcher Bob Brenly, who, like him, went on to manage the Diamondbacks.

[24] Melvin worked for Milwaukee as a scout in 1996, roving instructor in 1997, and assistant to General Manager Sal Bando in 1998.

[1] Melvin then served the Arizona Diamondbacks as bench coach on the staff of manager Bob Brenly, from 2001 to 2002, a period in which the team won two NL West titles, as well as the 2001 World Series.

The Mariners won 93 games with a .574 win–loss percentage in 2003, as the 93 wins tied Melvin for the 15th-most by any rookie manager in Major League history.

[1] However, the team missed the playoffs, finishing three games behind the Oakland Athletics in the division, and two behind the Boston Red Sox for the one wild card spot.

[30] On August 14, 2008, with his 304th win Melvin became the winningest manager in Arizona history, passing Bob Brenly.

[33] He was interviewed by the Milwaukee Brewers for their managerial opening in October 2010, and was believed to be a finalist along with Bobby Valentine, Joey Cora, and Ron Roenicke.

[35] In 2010, Melvin was a scout for the New York Mets, and in May 2011 he worked for the Diamondbacks as a special baseball advisor to president and CEO Derrick Hall.

[1] On June 9, 2011, Melvin was named interim manager of the Oakland Athletics following Bob Geren's dismissal.

While the team faded down the stretch, it still managed to clinch an AL Wild Card berth on the final day of the season.

In 2015, Melvin only had his players place eleven sacrifice bunts, the lowest number in the AL.[44] On July 29, 2017, he became the 64th MLB manager to win 1,000 games in his career.

[48] He won the award after leading the baseball team with the lowest Opening Day payroll to a 97–65 record and its first post-season in four years.

[50] By the end of his Athletics tenure, his 853 wins were second-most in team history, behind only Hall of Fame manager Connie Mack.

ESPN reported: "With the A's, Melvin developed a reputation as a players' manager as well as a keen strategist, and in a division in which his team often carried the lowest payroll, he found consistent success.

That season, he had the team issue the lowest rate of intentional walks in the league (in 0.1% of plate appearances).

[59] His 1,517 regular season wins ranked 25th all-time and were third-most among active managers behind Bruce Bochy (2,093) and Buck Showalter (1,727).

[60] One of 15 managers with eight postseason appearances in MLB history, Melvin is the only one to have never won a league pennant.