#113 Dave May - Baltimore Orioles

David LaFrance May
Baltimore Orioles
Outfield

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'10"  Weight:  186
Born:  December 23, 1943, New Castle, DE
Signed:  Signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent, September 19, 1961
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1967-1970; Milwaukee Brewers 1970-1974; Atlanta Braves 1975-1976; Texas Rangers 1977; Milwaukee Brewers 1978; Pittsburgh Pirates 1978

World Series Appearances:  Baltimore Orioles 1969
Died:  October 20, 2012, Bear, DE (age 68)

Dave May played in a dozen big league seasons, and was briefly a star for the Brewers in the early 1970s.  May came up with the Orioles in 1967, and he'd see his only postseason action in 1969, going 0 for 2 with a walk in three pinch-hitting appearances in the ALCS and World Series.  His Orioles fell to the Mets in five games.  Dealt to Milwaukee in June 1970, May would assume the everyday center fielder's role for the Brewers, driving in at least 42 runs each season between 1971 and 1974.  May's career year came in 1973 when he made the All-Star team and attained career high marks in the three triple crown categories by batting .303 with 25 home runs and 93 RBIs.  He finished eighth that year in the league's MVP voting.

May moved to the National League in 1975, as the player dealt to the Braves in exchange for Henry Aaron (#100) returning to Milwaukee to play for the Brewers.  He'd play his final four seasons with the Braves, Rangers, Brewers (for a second stint) and Pirates, appearing in his final five big league games with Pittsburgh late in 1978 season.  May batted .251 for his career with 920 hits, 96 home runs and 422 RBIs.  He was inducted into the Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor in 2014.

Building the Set / Card #150
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 73rd of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me less than a dollar.

The Card / Orioles Team Set / Accuracy Index +5

This is May's first solo card in a Topps set, as he shared a Rookie Stars card in the 1968 Topps set with Dave Leonhard (#228).  His minor league successes are highlighted on the back, including his penchant for base stealing.  May would steal a career-high 15 bases in 1971 with the Brewers.

Accuracy Index:  May's card receives a solid +5 for the accurate Orioles uniform.

1969 Season
In 78 games for the Orioles, May batted .242 with three home runs and 10 RBIs.  He was the team's fifth outfielder on their depth chart, behind regulars Don Buford (#478), Paul Blair (#506) and Frank Robinson (#250) and seeing less time than back-up outfielder Merv Rettenmund (#66).  He made only 19 starts all season - all in right field to give Robinson a day off.  As a pinch-hitter, May batted .235 (8 for 34) with one of his three home runs coming in a pinch-hit role.

Phillies Connection
May signed with the Phillies following the 1978 season and went to spring training in Clearwater with the club.  He didn't make the team, and was one of the final cuts of the spring on March 19, 1979.  His son, Derrick May, played in ten big league seasons, including with the Phillies in 1997.

1968 Topps #56

1973 Topps #152

1974 Topps #12

1976 Topps #281

1978 Topps #362

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1968 Topps #56
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (10):  1968-1976, 1978
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1981 TCMA The 1960s II #385
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards:  51 in the Beckett online database as of 10/15/23.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia

Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database

#112 J.C. Martin - New York Mets / #114 Yankees Rookie Stars