Lee May
Lee Andrew May (born March 23, 1943 in Birmingham) is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball. May played for the Cincinnati Reds (1965-71), Houston Astros (1972-74), Baltimore Orioles (1975-80) and Kansas City Royals (1981-82). He batted and threw right-handed. He is the brother of former Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees outfielder Carlos May.
May starred in baseball and football at Parker High School and was recruited in 1961 by Bob Devaney of the University of Nebraska. Instead he agreed to a contract with the Cincinnati Reds offered by scout Jimmy Bragan, which netted him $5,000 cash, a new Wilson glove, new Rydell spikes, and a Westinghouse washing machine for his mother. He was called up to the big leagues in 1965 and struck out in his first at-bat against Bob Veale. He improved steadily and became a full-time starter in his third season. He shone in the 1970 World Series, hitting .389 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI in five games, despite the Reds loss to the Orioles. His next appearance in the series came as an Oriole nine years later, when he was used mainly as a designated hitter. He only batted twice in that series despite a solid year with 19 home runs and 69 RBI.
Over his 18-season career, May posted a .267 batting average, with 354 home runs and 1244 runs batted in in 2071 games. A three-time All-Star, May was one of the most consistent sluggers of his generation. During eleven consecutive seasons, he compiled 20 or more home runs and 80 or more RBIs (1969-78), with career-highs 39 home runs in 1971 and 110 RBIs in 1969. In 1973 with the National League's Houston Astros, May had a 21-game hitting streak (May 30 to June 22), setting a club record. He also had a three-home run game in the same season (on June 21). Beside this, he was prone to strike outs; ten times, he fanned more than 100 times in a season and compiled 1,570 in his career, although when he did get a hit, it was often a home run that helped win the game. May is just one of eleven big leaguers to reach the 100-RBI plateau playing for three different teams.
May hit the last home run in the history of Crosley Field. The shot came in the eighth inning off San Francisco Giants pitcher Juan Marichal in the final game ever played at the stadium, on June 24, 1970, and won the game for the Reds, 5-4.
Later life
May stayed in baseball for twelve more years, serving as a hitting coach for the Royals, Orioles, Reds and Rays. He has three children and nine grandchildren. His daughter Yelandra is the team physician for the University of Cincinnaiti. His son, Lee May, Jr was a New York Mets 1st Round Pick in the 1980s and is currently the hitting coach for the Akron Aeros.
May was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame with the class of 2010.
References
- "Lee May." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 23 Apr 2009, 23:40 UTC. 23 Apr 2009 [1].
- Segrest, Doug (May 31, 2009) "Birmingham's Lee May looks back over his career: Baseball was the sport for me." Birmingham News