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Lee Andrew May
Cincinnati Reds
First Base
Born: March 23, 1943, Birmingham, AL
Signed: Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent, June 1, 1961
Major League Teams: Cincinnati Reds 1965-71; Houston Astros 1972-74; Baltimore Orioles 1975-80; Kansas City Royals 1981-82
World Series Appearances: Cincinnati Reds 1970; Baltimore Orioles 1979
Died: July 29, 2017, Cincinnati, OH (age 74)
Nicknamed "Big Bopper" in recognition of his power at the plate, Lee May was a three-time All-Star and the American League RBI champ in 1976. May began his career with the Reds, and he was named to his first two All-Star teams in 1969 and 1971. He began an 11-year streak of having at least 20 home runs and 80 RBIs in 1968. Following what may have been his career year in 1971, in which het batted .278 with 39 home runs and 98 RBIs, May was swapped to the Astros in a blockbuster eight-player deal that saw Joe Morgan (#35) head to Cincinnati. May's production remained steady in Houston, and he made his third All-Star team in 1972. The last eight seasons of his career were spent with the Orioles and Royals, where May took advantage of the new designated hitter role. He drove in 109 runs in 1976 to lead the league, and finished ninth in the postseason MVP voting. May played in two World Series with the Reds in 1970 and the Orioles in 1979, but his teams came up short both times.
May batted .267 with 2,031 hits, 354 home runs and 1,244 RBIs. He's currently one of only 11 players to have driven in at least 100 runs with three different teams. After retiring as a player, May began a lengthy coaching career with the Royals (1984-86, 1992-94), Reds (1988-89), Orioles (1995) and Devil Rays (2001-02). He was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2006. His younger brother Carlos (#654) played for 10 seasons in the majors with the White Sox, Yankees and Angels. His grandson Jacob played in 15 games for the White Sox in 2017.
Died: July 29, 2017, Cincinnati, OH (age 74)
Nicknamed "Big Bopper" in recognition of his power at the plate, Lee May was a three-time All-Star and the American League RBI champ in 1976. May began his career with the Reds, and he was named to his first two All-Star teams in 1969 and 1971. He began an 11-year streak of having at least 20 home runs and 80 RBIs in 1968. Following what may have been his career year in 1971, in which het batted .278 with 39 home runs and 98 RBIs, May was swapped to the Astros in a blockbuster eight-player deal that saw Joe Morgan (#35) head to Cincinnati. May's production remained steady in Houston, and he made his third All-Star team in 1972. The last eight seasons of his career were spent with the Orioles and Royals, where May took advantage of the new designated hitter role. He drove in 109 runs in 1976 to lead the league, and finished ninth in the postseason MVP voting. May played in two World Series with the Reds in 1970 and the Orioles in 1979, but his teams came up short both times.
May batted .267 with 2,031 hits, 354 home runs and 1,244 RBIs. He's currently one of only 11 players to have driven in at least 100 runs with three different teams. After retiring as a player, May began a lengthy coaching career with the Royals (1984-86, 1992-94), Reds (1988-89), Orioles (1995) and Devil Rays (2001-02). He was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2006. His younger brother Carlos (#654) played for 10 seasons in the majors with the White Sox, Yankees and Angels. His grandson Jacob played in 15 games for the White Sox in 2017.
December 3, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
Doug and I returned to The Philly Show in early December, once again held inside the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. eBay has taken over sponsorship of the show, with the quaint, bubble-lettered Philly Show logo that had been in place since the 1980s replaced with a more modern logo, keeping with the times. I wrote about the show in a post over at The Phillies Room.
Similar to my strategy from March, I wanted to focus on accumulating commons and having found success with Uncle Dick's Cards before, I didn't mess around and headed right for the neon green binders. I pulled 145 cards from the binder containing cards 301 to the end of the set, stopping when I reached 500. This card was the 76th of 145 cards purchased for our set, and after the dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, it cost less than $2.
The Card / Reds Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
That's #23 peaking through on the front of May's jersey, his number with the Reds and Astros between 1965 and 1974. The back of the card highlights his RBI total from 1964 and his home run total from 1968. Topps mentions May winning the National League Rookie of the Year in 1967. The official award went to Tom Seaver (#480), with May getting the honor from The Sporting News.
Accuracy Index: May's card scores a +5.
1969 Season
Again the regular first baseman for the Reds, May batted .278 with a team-leading 38 home runs. His 110 RBIs were second on the club to third baseman Tony Perez (#295), who had 122. May was third in the league in home runs and fourth in RBIs. In his first All-Star Game, he replaced Willie McCovey (#440) at first base in the sixth inning, and struck out against Sam McDowell (#220) in the eighth.
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First Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #424
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17): 1966-80, 1982-83
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2013 Topps Archives #207
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 138 in the Beckett online database as of 9/8/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
May appeared on a Reds Rookies card in '66 and '67, both times sharing the card with Darrel Osteen.
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