Joseph Emerson Mays (born December 10, 1975) is a former

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), ...

right-handed

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 ...

. Mays is a 1994 graduate of Southeast High School in

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

. He also attended

Manatee Community College Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species ...

in Bradenton. He and his wife, Melinda (née Rogers), have two children.

Minnesota Twins

Mays began his major league career with the Twins on April 7, 1999. He began the season in the bullpen before going to the rotation, he finished the season pitching in 49 games with a record of 6-11 for the Twins. The following season he was implanted into the rotation, pitching poorly throughout the season, finishing with an ERA of 5.56 and a record of 7-15 in 31 games (28 starts). He had his best season in 2001, going 17-13 with a 3.16 ERA. He led the league in ERA+ (143) and was selected to the All-Star Game. He pitched in a career high 233 innings and 4 complete games. In January 2002 he signed a four-year extension with the Twins for $20 million dollars that would last to the end of the 2005 season. He missed all of the 2004 season after having

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

performed on his pitching arm. Through 2003, he posted a 42-55 record with a 4.70 ERA. Mays successfully bounced back from his surgery to rejoin the Twins' starting rotation at the beginning of the 2005 season, and recorded his first win since the 2003 season on April 27, 2005 against the Kansas City Royals. Due to his losing record and disappointing ERA, on August 26, 2005, Twins manager

Ron Gardenhire Ronald Clyde Gardenhire (born October 24, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played as a shortstop for the New York Mets from 1981 through 1985. After another year playing in the minor leagues, he se ...

demoted Mays to the Twins bullpen and called up Scott Baker from AAA Rochester to replace Mays in the pitching rotation. Mays never recaptured the success of his 2001 season. From 2002 through 2005 he had a 5.81 ERA and a 77 ERA+. On October 7, 2005, the Twins chose not to renew Mays' contract for 2006, making him a free agent.

Kansas City Royals

He signed with the Kansas City Royals on December 23, 2005. Mays' Royals career was short-lived, as he was released on May 16, 2006 after posting an 0-4 record in 6 starts with a 10.27 ERA.

Cincinnati Reds

On May 19, 2006, Mays signed a minor league contract with the

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

. On June 6, Mays had his contract purchased by the Reds. However, Mays was designated for assignment on July 26, ending his short stint with the Reds.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Mays was a free agent through 2006. He signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

on February 7, . The contract included an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, where Mays failed to make the big league roster. Mays requested and received his release on May 16, 2007 after pitching in 8 starts.

Personal

Mays is a distant cousin of submarine pitcher

Carl Mays Carl William Mays (November 12, 1891 – April 4, 1971) was an American baseball pitcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1929. During his career, he won over 200 games, 27 in 1921 alone, and was a member of four Wor ...

who threw the pitch that resulted in the death of

Ray Chapman Raymond Johnson Chapman (January 15, 1891 – August 17, 1920) was an American baseball player. He spent his entire career as a shortstop for the Cleveland Indians. Chapman was hit in the head by a pitch thrown by pitcher Carl Mays and died ...

, the only Major League Baseball player to die during a game as a direct result of an on-field injury, on August 16, 1920.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mays, Joe 1975 births Living people Minnesota Twins players Kansas City Royals players Cincinnati Reds players American League All-Stars Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Flint, Michigan Arizona League Mariners players Everett AquaSox players SCF Manatees baseball players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players Lancaster JetHawks players Fort Myers Miracle players New Britain Rock Cats players Salt Lake Buzz players Louisville Bats players Las Vegas 51s players State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota alumni