Lee May

Not to be confused with baseball player and R&B singer Lee Maye.

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
Hits2,031
Home runs354
Runs batted in1,244
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Managerial record at Baseball Reference
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Lee Andrew May (March 23, 1943 – July 29, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman and designated hitter from 1965 to 1982 for the Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, and Kansas City Royals.[1]

Nicknamed "The Big Bopper" for his power hitting, May produced at least 20 home runs and 80 runs 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-time All-Star player and was the American League (AL) RBI champion in 1976.[1] May appeared in the postseason three times, including the 1970 World Series for the Reds and the 1979 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 and Tampa Bay Rays organizations. May was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 1998 and into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2006.[3][4] In 2009 he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.[2] He was the older brother of former professional baseball player, Carlos May.

  1. ^ a b "Lee May Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Aron, Eric. "The Baseball Biography Project: Lee May". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  3. ^ "Lee May at the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame". mlb.com. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  4. ^ "Lee May at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame". mlb.com. Retrieved August 13, 2021.