Touring the Bases With…Carlos May

Carlos May, brother of major league slugger Lee May, was selected 18th overall in the 1966 draft, which also featured Reggie Jackson, Gary Nolan, and Richie Hebner.  He spent parts of three seasons in the minors, batting .311 from 1966-1968, before making his big league debut on September 6, 1968 with the Chicago White Sox.  May batted .281 with 18 homers and 62 RBIs in 1969 and was named The Sporting News AL Rookie of the Year, but he suffered a potentially career-ending injury to his right thumb when a misfired mortar at Camp Pendleton almost took the Marine reserve’s thumb off in August.  Surgery, skin grafts, and physical therapy had May back in the White Sox’s starting lineup in 1970.

He batted a career-high .308 in 1972, then followed that up with career highs in homers (20) and RBIs (96) in 1973, before his career took a turn for the worse.  From 1974 to his last season in 1977, May batted .256 and averaged five homers and 43 RBIs per season.  He finished his 10-year major league career with a solid 111 OPS+ then spent parts of four seasons in Japan, where he hit .315 with 65 homers from 1978-1980.

Click here to watch a video of a conversation I had with Carlos May .

Bob Lazzari is an award-winning sports columnist for both Connecticut’s Valley Times and NY Sports Day , where his “Sports Roundup” column is featured weekly. He is a member of the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance and host of “ Monday Night Sports Talk ,” a cable television show on CTV/Channel 14 in Connecticut.