Not to be confused with Lee Maye, who also came close to induction

Lee May had a career built for vClub induction. He played for two National League franchises and two in the American League – a prerequisite for getting into a Club prior to the Interleague Era. He hit 354 home runs in his career and very few players can claim both the quantitative and geographic accomplishments1. But even with those pieces in place, it still took a World Series to get May his full ledger.

1966 – Cincinnati Reds

May had two short stints with the Reds in 1965 and early 1966 before staying with the big club permanently in September.

LEDGER ONE: September 24, 1966 vs New York Mets

May would hit more home runs (28) against the Mets than any other team in his career.

LEDGER TWO: October 1 (Game 1) vs Atlanta Braves

Part of May’s four-hit day was this three run shot in the bottom of the first.

1967 – Cincinnati Reds

May would kick off his 1967 campaign with a pair of home runs against the Mets, then started carving up new opponents.

LEDGER THREE: May 15 vs Pittsburgh Pirates

This home run tied the game in the bottom of the ninth and the Reds would go on to win in the tenth.

LEDGER FOUR: June 16 at Los Angeles Dodgers

May played in more games against the Dodgers than any other team. He would hit 25 home runs against them in his career.

LEDGER FIVE: June 21 at Houston Astros

May would hit seven more home runs against Houston before being traded to the Astros at the end of the 1971 season. Going the other way in the trade would be near-immediate Reds legend Joe Morgan.

LEDGER SIX: July 17 vs Philadelphia Phillies

This was a two-out solo shot in the bottom of the seventh that gave the Reds a 5-4 lead in a game they would go on to win.

LEDGER SEVEN: August 31 vs San Francisco Giants

May began to play more games at first base in August and September with the Reds’ regular first baseman, v-Club member Deron Johnson, battling injuries. This ledger was hit off Mike McCormick, the 1967 National League Cy Young Award winner.

LEDGER EIGHT: October 1 vs Chicago Cubs

The Reds won the final game of the 1967 season by a score of 10-3 and this was a late-inning two-run blast that increased their lead.

May now had fourteen career home runs and was still needing a home run against the Cardinals. His 1968 season was even more productive, with 22 home runs, including at least one against every National League opponent… except the Cardinals. This was despite 75 plate appearances vs the Redbirds which was more than every team except the Astros.

1969 – Cincinnati Reds

1969 added two more needed opponents with the expansion Padres and Expos.

LEDGER NINE: May 9 at Montreal Expos

May hit this ledger off Larry Jaster whose claim to fame came in 1966 with the Cardinals. He started five games against the Dodgers that season and pitched a shutout all five times.

May crushed the Expos for the remainder of his career, hitting 25 home runs in only 67 games. In contrast, he hit 25 home runs against the Giants too, but in 135 games.

LEDGER TEN: June 1 at St. Louis Cardinals

May finally nabbed his ledger against the Cardinals with this solo shot off Nelson Briles. His next career home run would come eleven days later against the Cardinals and Nelson Briles.

LEDGER ELEVEN: June 24 vs San Diego Padres

This two-run blast in the bottom of the fourth tied the game at three and May was now maxed out against the National League.

1970 – Cincinnati Reds

May would only take part in one of the four World Series appearances by the Reds in the 1970s, and it would be the one that the would complete his ledger. The Orioles and Reds squared off in the 1970 World Series and May did everything in his power to push the Reds to victory with two home runs, eight RBI, and .389 average.

LEDGER TWELVE: October 10 vs Baltimore Orioles

He hit his ledger off Jim Palmer who still managed to win game one of the series for Baltimore. Five seasons later, May would find himself playing for Baltimore, but he had an interim stop to make.

1972 – Houston Astros

After spending the 1971 season with Cincinnati, May was traded to the Astros. It took nine games against his former team before he collected his last National League ledger.

LEDGER THIRTEEN: June 24 at Cincinnati Reds

May would spend two more seasons with the Astros after 1972. He was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in December 1974.

1975 – Baltimore Orioles

May wasted absolutely no time in adding American League ledgers.

LEDGER FOURTEEN: April 10 at Detroit Tigers

The ledger came in May’s first plate appearance as an Oriole. It was a three-run blast in the top of the first inning that helped propel Baltimore to a 10-0 Opening Day shutout.

LEDGER FIFTEEN: April 18 at Boston Red Sox

May’s hit his second home run as an Oriole about a week later as part of a two homer, seven RBI day in Boston. He hit both home runs off Reggie Cleveland with the first bringing the O’s to within one run in the fifth, then giving them a two-run lead in the seventh.

LEDGER SIXTEEN: May 2 at Cleveland Indians

This ledger tied the game in the seventh inning, but the Indians, assisted by a v-Club member Rico Carty ledger, won the game.

LEDGER SEVENTEEN: May 21 at Chicago White Sox

May generally found himself hitting cleanup over the previous few season. But in his first year in Baltimore his average had slumped towards the Mendoza Line. Manager Earl Weaver may have tried to counter by hitting May sixth or seventh for a stretch, including this game.

LEDGER EIGHTEEN: May 27 at Oakland Athletics

Now officially below the Mendoza Line, May connected on this solo shot that opened the scoring in a game the Orioles lost. A few games later, Earl Weaver would reverse course and reinstate May in the cleanup spot. May ended up with a decent .262 average in 1975 and gathered some MVP votes.

LEDGER NINETEEN: June 4 vs Texas Rangers

This was the first home run, ledger or not, that May hit at his home field of Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. His home run tied the game in the eighth inning but the O’s lost the game in extra innings.

LEDGER TWENTY: July 4 at New York Yankees

May celebrated Independence Day with this bomb against Catfish Hunter who was in the thick of a superb four-year stretch on his way to the Hall of Fame.

The Yankees ended up being a tough get for May, as he would only hit four more home runs against them in his career. That’s in contrast to the Minnesota Twins…

LEDGER TWENTY-ONE: July 17 vs Minnesota Twins

… who May collected eighteen home runs from in his career, more than any other AL team. This home run too was off a future Hall of Famer – Bert Blyleven. It would also be the last ledger of the season.

1976 – Baltimore Orioles

May’s second home run of 1976 was part of a two homer day.

LEDGER TWENTY-TWO: May 8 vs Kansas City Royals

Both were hit off Dennis Leonard and both only chipped away at a Royals lead.

LEDGER TWENTY-THREE: May 12 at Milwaukee Brewers

May ended up hitting fifteen more against the Brewers in his career, second only behind the Twins for opponents.

LEDGER TWENTY-FOUR: July 9 at California Angels

This ledger pulled the Orioles to an early lead and was only one of four home runs he would hit against the Angels.

Perhaps quietly, May now found himself as a provisional member of the v24 Club. His World Series home run against the Orioles in 1970 was completing his ledger and Baltimore was the only team May had played for in the American League.

But he wasn’t done yet. The Mariners and Blue Jays were expansion teams for the 1977 season.

1977 – Baltimore Orioles

LEDGER TWENTY-FIVE: July 29 at Seattle Mariners

This was a two-run homer that put the Orioles up by one in the top of the ninth. They would go on to win the game and May would go on to only hit three more against the Mariners2.

LEDGER TWENTY-SIX: September 14 (Game 1) at Toronto Blue Jays

In contrast, May would hit ten more home runs against the Jays. By this point, he was at the start of his designated hitter era, but could now claim quasi-membership in both the v24 and v26 Clubs.

May would continue to play with Baltimore through the 1980 season. He signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Royals in the off-season and would play there for two years. However, his playing time for the Royals was greatly reduced. He would only hit three home runs in his time there, and none of them were against the Orioles (over 24 plate appearances), so the World Series home run stood as the home run of record for his ledger.

Lee May, again not to be confused with Lee Maye3, had a great career, certainly built for v-Club consideration.