Friday, June 12, 2009

1976 Topps #110 - Carlos May




  • Carlos May is the brother of Lee May. Carlos played in the majors from 1968-1977 and in Japan from 1978-1981. He played most of his career without most of his right thumb thanks to a 1969 mortar accident while on duty as a Marine reserve.
  • May was a September call-up for the Chicago White Sox in 1968 (September 6 -- my 2nd birthday) and batted .179 in 67 at bats. He was having a great rookie season in 1969 (.281, 18 HR, All-Star appearance) when the mortar accident happened. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting. Carlos came back in 1970 to bat .285 in 555 at bats. His power wasn't quite as good, but he was still a good offensive player for the White Sox.
  • May made the All Star team again in 1972. He batted .308 in 523 at bats. His numbers started to fall off a bit after the 1973 season. Carlos was batting .175 for the White Sox when he was traded to the New York Yankees on May 18. He had better numbers for the Yankees (.278 in 288 at bats).
  • Carlos split the 1977 season between the Yankees (.227 in 203 AB) and the California Angels (6 hits in 18 at bats). He departed for Japan after the '77 season and played for the Nankai Hawks for four seasons. In Japan he was a .300 hitter with good power.
  • After coming back from Japan he was a postal clerk and made appearances for the White Sox.

    Carlos wore his birthday (May 17) on the back of his uniform during his time with the White Sox.

  • Here is a 2002 Baseball Digest "where are they now" article about Carlos.


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