Lee May

[Pat Kelly]

One the many iconic 70's Orioles.

http://www.baseballhappenings.net/2017/07/lee-may-three-time-all-star-dies-at-74.html?m=1

[MagicBird]

Wow, sad to hear.   Lee May was one of my first favorite Orioles.  My first game ever he charged the mound and a big brawl ensued.  I was hooked on Orioles baseball.

[Tx Oriole]

11 minutes ago, Pat Kelly said:

One the many iconic 70's Orioles.

http://www.baseballhappenings.net/2017/07/lee-may-three-time-all-star-dies-at-74.html?m=1

That's sad. Sorry to hear that. Prayers to his family and friends.

[Frobby]

He was a great mentor to Eddie Murray.    And talk about a hitter who was either red hot or ice cold -- he put Chris Davis to shame!   A great "lunch pail" Oriole on some of my favorite O's teams.   And of course, while on the Reds, it was his smash over the 3B bag that Brooks turned into one of the most iconic defensive plays in World Series history.    

RIP, Mr. May.   You'll be missed.   

[InsideCoroner]

That's really a shame to hear he's passed. I seem to remember him hitting a grand slam at one of the earlier games in my childhood, back in '79 or so, which was the first grand slam I ever saw.

[billw76]

RIP, prayers to your family

[Filmstudy]

RIP, Lee.  Gone way too young at 74.

 

My favorite Lee May memory isn't one of his grand slams with the Orioles, it was his sac bunt versus Jim Kern 6/10/79.  That was the key to a 3-run rally vs. the Rangers to win 5-4, the first of 3 straight home games won with 3-run, 9th-inning comebacks.  His bunt and Kern's throw to the vacated 3rd base was the start of the magic that season for me, although Decinces' HR would come 12 days later in the next home game vs. the Tigers.

 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL197906100.shtml

[OFFNY]

o

 

I remember when he beat MVP Thurman Munson for the RBI title in 1976 (109 for May, 105 for Munson.)

When Eddie Murray was the Rookie of the Year in 1977, Murray was primarily the DH, and Lee May was primarily the 1st baseman ...... then they did the switcheroo in 1978.

 

I also remember once reading that May literally sat on his teammate Reggie Jackson (to restrain him) in a brawl between the Orioles and the Indians in 1976.

 

o

[Pat Kelly]

Constantly moving bat...The Big Bopper!  First Os game in 1975 he was at 1B.  Singleton, May and Murray from 1977 was a fun middle of the lineup. 

[scOtt]

Chuck Thompson call:

"The 2-2 to May. Swing, ground ball, third-base side. Brooks Robinson's got it, throwing from foul ground toward first base. It is ...IN TIME!"

[Number5]

1 hour ago, scOtt said:

Chuck Thompson call:

"The 2-2 to May. Swing, ground ball, third-base side. Brooks Robinson's got it, throwing from foul ground toward first base. It is ...IN TIME!"

Ain't the beer cold!

RIP, Bopper.

[Tony-OH]

RIP to my first first baseman. I used to love how he waddle his bat back and forth while he waited for the pitch to be thrown. 

[palmer22]

I was at that game in May 1979 when the Big Bopper crushed a ball to left in Memorial Stadium for a grand slam against the Angels. That's also my favorite memory of Lee May. We won 9-1 that Saturday night and the next afternoon Dennis Martinez had a no-hitter into the seventh until Don Baylor broke it up. The O's were in the midst of a 15-1 run and they looked like no one in the world could beat them. Good times indeed...

[SteveA]

He hit some monster high moonshot home runs. 

Like Frobby said, he was so streaky.   When he got hot he could carry the team on his back for a week.

I believe he may have been the MLB RBI leader for the decade of the 1970s.

We've lost so many of those great 70s Oriole teams... McNalley, Cuellar, May, Belanger, Flannie, Elrod, Pat Kelly, Earl, Cal Sr.  Those were the first teams I ever loved, and it is truly sad.

[eddie83]

7 hours ago, Filmstudy said:

RIP, Lee.  Gone way too young at 74.

 

My favorite Lee May memory isn't one of his grand slams with the Orioles, it was his sac bunt versus Jim Kern 6/10/79.  That was the key to a 3-run rally vs. the Rangers to win 5-4, the first of 3 straight home games won with 3-run, 9th-inning comebacks.  His bunt and Kern's throw to the vacated 3rd base was the start of the magic that season for me, although Decinces' HR would come 12 days later in the next home game vs. the Tigers.

 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL197906100.shtml

I remember that play from an Orioles VHS tape when Memorial Stadium closed. Someone put many clips from that tape on YouTube.