Lee May | |
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First baseman | |
Born: Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | March 23, 1943|
Died: July 29, 2017 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | (aged 74)|
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 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
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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.