| Lee May | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born:(1943-03-23)March 23, 1943 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | |
| Died: July 29, 2017(2017-07-29) (aged 74) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 1, 1965, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 24, 1982, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .267 |
| Hits | 2,031 |
| Home runs | 354 |
| Runs batted in | 1,244 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Lee Andrew May (March 23, 1943 – July 29, 2017) was anAmerican professionalbaseball player andcoach. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as afirst baseman anddesignated hitter from1965 to1982 for theCincinnati Reds,Houston Astros,Baltimore Orioles, andKansas City Royals.[1]
Nicknamed "The Big Bopper" for his power hitting, May produced at least 20 home runs and 80runs batted in (RBI) for 11 consecutive seasons, and is one of only 11 major league players to have 100-RBI seasons for three different teams.[2] He was a three-timeAll-Star player and was theAmerican League (AL) RBI champion in 1976.[1] May appeared in the postseason three times, including the1970 World Series for the Reds and the1979 World Series for the Orioles as well as the 1981 postseason with the Royals.
After his playing career, May spent several years as a hitting coach at the major league level for the Royals, Reds, Orioles andTampa Bay Rays organizations. May was inducted into theBaltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 1998 and into theCincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2006.[3][4] In 2009 he was inducted into theAlabama Sports Hall of Fame.[2] He was the older brother of former professional baseball player,Carlos May.
May was a standout in both baseball and football atA.H. Parker High School in Birmingham. May played fullback on the varsity football team and was offered a scholarship at theUniversity of Nebraska. However, theCincinnati Reds organization was also interested in him, and the team signed May to an amateur free agent contract with a $12,000 bonus on June 1, 1961.[1][5]
May began his professional career in 1961 with theTampa Tarpons in theFlorida State League, a D-league affiliate of the Reds. He played two years in Tampa before moving up to the Rocky Mount Leafs in the Class ACarolina League. The following year he was again promoted, this time to theMacon Peaches in the Class AASouthern League.[6] At all three stops, May, like many black players, endured racist taunts not only from an opposing team's white fans but from the fans of his own team as well.[5] May hated his time inMacon, Georgia the most. Not only did he hear racist epithets, but he also had to avoid thrown bottles. May's emergence in 1964 allowed him to be promoted the following year to theSan Diego Padres of the Class AAAPacific Coast League. During his only season with the Padres, May was one of the best players in the league. He hit 34 home runs while driving in 103 runs and hitting .321. He was called up briefly to the Reds at the end of season but then moved to the Reds' new Class AAAInternational League team, theBuffalo Bisons in 1966. A solid AAA season at Buffalo led to his permanent major league promotion.[6]
May made his major league debut on September 1, 1965, as a pinch hitter against theMilwaukee Braves.[7] On September 24, 1966 atCrosley Field in Cincinnati, he hit his first major league home run against Bob Shaw of theNew York Mets. It turned out to be the game-winning homer.[8] May broke camp as a full-time member of the Reds in 1967. That season, May was namedNL Rookie of the Year byThe Sporting News.[9] He was also named to theTopps All-Star Rookie Team.[citation needed] The next two years saw much of the construction of the futureThe Big Red Machine. Along withJohnny Bench,Tony Pérez, andPete Rose, May helped power arguably one of baseball's great offenses. In 1968, he hit 22 home runs and drove in 80 runs.[1] Despite only walking 38 times and striking out 100 times, he still had an OPS of .805 which was remarkable during theYear of the Pitcher.[10]
In 1969, he finished the year with 38 home runs, third in the National League. He also had 110 RBIs which was fourth in the league. May was also second in extra base hits, fourth in total bases, sixth in slugging percentage and sixth in doubles.[1] Also in 1969, May had three consecutive multi-home run games, a feat that has only happened three other times in major league history.[11]
TeammateTommy Helmsnicknamed May "The Big Bopper from Birmingham" which later was shortened to "The Big Bopper."[12] During his time in Cincinnati, May was one of the clubhouse leaders for the Reds. With his pragmatic personality and comic sense of timing, managerSparky Anderson often called on May to put out clubhouse fires.
In 1970, the Reds pounded nearly everyone into submission. Batting in the fifth slot, May delivered 94 runs batted in. On June 24, 1970, May hit the last home run in the history ofCrosley Field during the park's final game. The game-winning shot came in the eighth inning offSan Francisco Giants pitcherJuan Marichal.[13]
May was the most productive member of theBig Red Machine in the1970 World Series against theBaltimore Orioles. He batted .389 with two home runs, six runs scored which was tied withBoog Powell for Series high and eight RBI which was a five-game World Series record at the time.[14] He also had the highestslugging percentage andon-base plus slugging (OPS) with .833 and 1.283 respectively.[15] His three-run homer to left field offEddie Watt's first pitch in the eighth inning of Game 4 led to the only Series victory for the Reds who avoided an Orioles' four-match sweep.[16]
Although the Reds slumped in 1971, May continued to slug away, hitting 39 home runs (third in the NL) and driving in 98 RBIs (sixth in NL).[17] Consequently, May was named the Reds MVP for the 1971 season.[4]
With the Reds needing to shore up their infield defense and add speed on the basepaths and seeingTony Pérez and May as essentially the same type of player (right-handed power hitters), the Reds sent May to the Houston Astros for future Hall of FamerJoe Morgan. The Astros, badly in need of power after finishing last in the NL in home runs in 1971, completed a trade with the Reds on November 29, 1971 that sent second baseman Morgan, pitcherJack Billingham, infielderDenis Menke, outfielderCésar Gerónimo and minor leaguerEd Armbrister for May, second basemanTommy Helms and utility manJimmy Stewart.
Although his power numbers dropped in theAstrodome, the toughest ballpark to hit a home run in the National League,[18] he continued to drive in runs on a regular basis. His 105 RBI in 1973 was second in the league.[1] During the 1973 season, May set an Astro club record with a 21-game hitting streak. It was during this streak he hit three home runs in one game (also a club record) and collected his 1000th base hit.[19] On April 29, 1974, May became the 17th player in MLB history to hit two home runs in one inning.[20]
May was acquired along withJay Schlueter by theBaltimore Orioles from the Astros forEnos Cabell andRob Andrews at theWinter Meetings on December 3, 1974. Averaging 32 homers and 98 RBI as one of MLB's top five power hitters over the previous five seasons, May was expected to improve the Orioles' offensive production at first base.[21]
He took an immediate liking to the American League. In his first at bat in the junior circuit, he hit a three-run home run atTiger Stadium.[22] In his first appearance at Boston'sFenway Park, May crushed two three-run home runs over the park's famedGreen Monster including a game-winning shot.[23][24]
In 1976, May enjoyed his best season as an Oriole. He hit 25 home runs and led the American League in RBI with 109.[1] For his effort, May won the Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole Award.
In his last three seasons with the Orioles, May was primarily used as adesignated hitter to make room for a youngEddie Murray at first base. Although May was a major contributor in 1979 with 19 homers and 69 RBI, in the1979 World Series, he only came to bat twice because the DH was not used in that series.
After being allowed to leave the Orioles via free agency after the 1980 season, May signed with the Royals as part-time 1B/DH/pinch hitter. Despite hitting .308 in only 48 games in 1982, the 39-year-old May was released by the team in November and he decided to call it a career.
Following his release from the Royals, he was hired back as the team's hitting coach and earned aWorld Series ring as part of the1985 World Series championship team.[25]
In his 18-season career, May posted a .267batting average, with 354home runs, 1244runs batted in, and 2031hits in 2071games. Defensively, he recorded a .994fielding percentage. May was prone tostrike out; 10 times he fanned more than 100 times in a season and compiled 1,570 in his career. However, he is one of 11 major leaguers to reach the 100-RBI plateau playing for three teams, the others beingDick Allen,Joe Carter,Orlando Cepeda,Rocky Colavito,Goose Goslin,Rogers Hornsby,Reggie Jackson,Al Simmons,Vic Wertz, andAlex Rodriguez.[citation needed]
May is currently in three different Halls of Fame:Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame (1988),Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame (2006), Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (2009).[26] The Big Bopper of Birmingham andFrank Robinson are the only players to be elected to both the Orioles and Reds Halls of Fame.[3][4]
Lee May and his wife, Terrye,[27][28] have three children and nine grandchildren. His son, Lee May Jr., was a New York Mets first-round pick in 1986 and played from 1986 through 1993 in their Minor League system.[29] After that, he began his coaching career in the Mets organization in 1999 and later worked as the minor league hitting coordinator for theSeattle Mariners from 2012–2015. He previously served as a manager and coach in theCleveland Indians system for seven seasons beginning in 2004, and then joined theBoston Red Sox organization in 2016, serving as the hitting coach for theGreenville Drive. May Jr.'s son,Jacob May, played baseball atCoastal Carolina University, and was selected by theChicago White Sox in the third round (91st overall) of the2013 MLB Draft.[30]
May died ofpneumonia at a hospital in Cincinnati on July 29, 2017, aged 74. He also had heart disease.
May was featured in aSports Illustrated story written bySteve Rushin about TV characterSam Malone from the showCheers. Fictitiously, Malone was a former major league pitcher who served up a pitch that May crushed all the way out of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium.[31]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Kansas City Royals Hitting Coach 1984–1986 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Cincinnati Reds First Base Coach 1988–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Tampa Bay Rays First Base Coach 2001–2002 | Succeeded by |