In the summer of 1941, Mele also played baseball for the Burlington, Vermont team of the Northern League where he made contact with the Boston Red Sox and signed a five-figure contract.

As part of the V-12 Navy College Training Program, Mele played baseball for Red Rolfe at Yale University.

[3] The following year, the 1947 Red Sox, the defending American League champions, went into spring training with uncertainty at the right field position, but Mele won the job with a 5-for-5 performance, started in 90 games, and hit .302 for the season.

But in 1959, on July 4, Mele joined the Major League coaching staff of the Senators under manager Cookie Lavagetto when Billy Jurges departed to become skipper of the Red Sox.

With the maiden edition of the Twins struggling at 19–30 (.388) on June 6, 1961, Mele filled in as manager, winning two of seven games while Lavagetto took a leave of absence.

[1] But fortified by young players such as Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, Jim Kaat, Zoilo Versalles and Bob Allison, the Twins challenged the powerful New York Yankees in 1962 before placing second.

After finishing third in 1963, the team suffered through a poor season in 1964,[1] leading to speculation that Mele would be replaced by his new third base coach, Billy Martin.

[8] The club swung a major trade for pitcher Dean Chance during the offseason and unveiled star rookie Rod Carew in 1967.

[9] He never managed again at any level in baseball, but returned to the Red Sox, where he served as a special assignments scout from the midseason of 1967 until his 1994 retirement.