Carlos May (born May 17, 1948) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

from 1968 to 1977, most prominently for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

where he was a two-time American League All-Star player. He also played for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

and the California Angels. After his major league career, he played in the

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

league for the

Nankai Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

from 1978 to 1981. May is the younger brother of former professional baseball player,

Lee May 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 to for the Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, Baltimo ...

Early years

Carlos was born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. He attended A. H. Parker High School.

Major league career

He began his major league career on September 6, , but did not have his first full year until . In , he suffered a severe injury while serving in the

Marine Reserves A marine reserve is a type of marine protected area (MPA). An MPA is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity. A marine reserve is a marine protected area in which removing or destroying natural or cultural ...

, at Camp Pendleton in California. May was cleaning a mortar when it fired causing a partial amputation of his right thumb. He won the ''Sporting News'' Rookie of the Year Award, but lost to

Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and ...

for the

Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The a ...

. In 1970, as the White Sox' full-time left fielder, he had a good breakout season,

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

.285 with 12

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 68

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. However, the White Sox had a miserable year, finishing 50 games under .500 and in last place in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

, 42 games out of first place. In he batted .294 with 70 RBIs while playing regularly at first base for the only time in his career. He moved back to the outfield after an offseason trade brought superstar

Dick Allen Richard Anthony Allen (March 8, 1942 – December 7, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. During his fifteen-year-long Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played as a first baseman, third baseman, and outfielder, most notably ...

to the White Sox. Throughout the early 1970s, May continued to help the White Sox improve as a solid everyday starter for them. In , he hit .308 and had 28 stolen bases, which would both end up his career-highs in the respective categories. That year, Chicago finished in 2nd place in the AL, behind only the Oakland Athletics. In he collected 20 home runs and 96 RBIs, which would end up his career highs in those categories. May did get a crack at postseason play, but not with the White Sox. On May 18, , he was traded to the Yankees for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Ken Brett Kenneth Alven Brett (September 18, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher and the second of four Brett brothers who played professional baseball, the most notable being the youngest, George Brett. Ken played for ...

and fellow outfielder

Rich Coggins Richard Allen Coggins (born December 7, 1950) is a former outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles (-), Montreal Expos (), New York Yankees (-) and Chicago White Sox (). Coggins helped the Orioles win the 1973 and 1974 American League Eastern Divisio ...

. The deal was made while the Yankees were in a heated pennant race. That year, he hit .278 and the Yankees went to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

. During the ALCS, May went 2-for-10 with a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

and a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

. In the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, he did not get a hit in 9 at bats and ended up with a .105 batting average in the postseason. He was an All-Star in 1969 and 1972 and made the top 10 in batting average and stolen bases twice. While playing for the White Sox he had the rare distinction of wearing his birthday on the back of his uniform, including his surname: "MAY 17." In a 10-year career, he hit .274 with 90 home runs and 536 RBIs in 1165 games. He had 85 career stolen bases and 545 runs scored. In 4120 at bats, he had 1127 career hits. In 2012, May joined the coaching staff of the

Schaumburg Boomers The Schaumburg Boomers are a professional baseball team based in Schaumburg, Illinois that began play in the independent Frontier League in 2012. The team plays its home games at Wintrust Field. The Boomers replaced the now defunct Schaumburg Fly ...

baseball team, in the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

Personal life

May worked for the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

for 20 years as a mail carrier and clerk after playing baseball. He is currently a community relations representative for the White Sox. May is the younger brother of

, who played in the major leagues for eighteen seasons. In 1969, they were the first brothers to play against each other in the All Star Game, with Carlos representing the

(AL) and Lee representing the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

(NL). May is the only player in MLB history to wear his birthday on the back of his jersey by wearing No.17, which including the name reads as "May 17", when he began his Major League career in the White Sox.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Carlos 1948 births Living people African-American baseball players Águilas del Zulia players American expatriate baseball players in Japan American League All-Stars Appleton Foxes players Baseball players from Birmingham, Alabama California Angels players Chicago White Sox players Deerfield Beach/Winter Haven Sun Sox players Florida Instructional League White Sox players Gulf Coast White Sox players Lynchburg White Sox players Major League Baseball left fielders Nankai Hawks players New York Yankees players United States Marines 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople