Dave May obit

All-Star May, once traded for Aaron, dies at 68

Played 12 seasons in Major Leagues, including with 1969 Orioles

 

He was not on the list.

Former Major League All-Star Dave May, who was once traded for Hank Aaron during his 12-year career, died on Saturday. He was 68.

May was a native of New Castle, Del., and lived in Bear, Del. He had diabetes and cancer, according to a report in The News Journal.

May's son Derrick played 10 seasons in the Major Leagues and now is the Cardinals' Minor League roving hitting instructor. St. Louis also selected his grandson, Derrick May Jr., in the 37th round of this June's First-Year Player Draft, although he didn't sign.

Derrick May told The News Journal that his father received many phone calls in the last week before his death.

"I never realized how many people he's impacted, not only around here, but people in baseball," Derrick May said. "Dusty Baker called and Cito Gaston, Willie Horton, Ralph Garr and all these people called just to help him out. He and Johnny Briggs were best friends for 40 years."

Dave May's name became connected to Aaron on Nov. 2, 1974, when the Brewers dealt May and a player to be named later to the Braves for the future Hall of Famer. Aaron played two seasons for the Brewers before retiring with 755 career homers after the 1976 season.

The Giants signed May as an amateur free agent in 1961, and he broke in with the Orioles as a 23-year-old in 1967. He spent four seasons with Baltimore, appearing in the 1969 World Series for the Orioles against the Mets, and six with Milwaukee before stints with the Braves, Pirates and Rangers. His last big league action came in 1978.

May played all three outfield positions in his career, finishing with a .251 batting average, 96 home runs and 422 RBIs. His best year came for the Brewers in 1973, when he posted a .303/.352/.473 batting line with 25 homers and 93 RBIs, leading the league in total bases and making the All-Star team.

May later was named to the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame.

Funeral arrangements have not been finalized, Derrick May told The News Journal.

A native of New Castle, Delaware, he graduated from William Penn High School. He signed with the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent in 1961. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed, and was listed as 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and 186 pounds (84 kg). The only year he spent in the Giants organization was in 1962 with the Salem Rebels, in which he led the team with a .379 batting average. He also played for the Fox City Foxes, Stockton Ports, Tri-City Atoms, and the Rochester Red Wings.

May appeared in his first Major League game with the Baltimore Orioles. During the time he was with Baltimore (1967–1970), he never had higher than a .242 batting average and 152 at bats. He was dealt from the Orioles to the Brewers for Dick Baney and Buzz Stephen before the trade deadline on June 15, 1970. However, upon coming to the Brewers, he became an effective hitter. In his first full season in Milwaukee, 1971, May hit 16 home runs and had 65 RBI, and batted .277. After an off year in 1972, he rebounded to finish eighth in the MVP voting in 1973 with a .303 batting average, 25 home runs, and 93 RBI. He also led the league in total bases, and placed in second in hits. May is one of two Delawareans to make the All-Star Game. However, his production declined in 1974, so the Brewers traded him to the Atlanta Braves for Hank Aaron.

May was part of a five-for-one trade that sent him, Ken Henderson, Roger Moret, Adrian Devine, Carl Morton and $200,000 from the Braves to the Rangers for Jeff Burroughs on December 9, 1976. May was traded back to Milwaukee at trade deadline in 1978 to help the team on a pennant push. As the Brewers faded, he was traded just before the August waiver wire deadline to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

May went to spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies and was their final cut before the 1979 season. He signed and played for Santo Domingo in the fledgling Inter-American League until it went defunct during the 1979 season. May then became a minor league coach, serving as a roving hitting instructor for the Atlanta Braves in 1981 and 1982

May was inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in 1984.

May died at age 68 in Bear, Delaware, on October 20, 2012.

 

MLB statistics

Batting average            .251

Home runs            96

Runs batted in            422

Teams

Baltimore Orioles (1967–1970)

Milwaukee Brewers (1970–1974)

Atlanta Braves (1975–1976)

Texas Rangers (1977)

Milwaukee Brewers (1978)

Pittsburgh Pirates (1978)

Career highlights and awards

All-Star (1973)

Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor