Astros History: Lee May

post from The Crawfish Boxes on 19 August 2012 07:01:37 AM. © The Crawfish Boxes

I'm a little bit surprised we haven't talked about Lee May yet. I thought maybe we had covered him earlier in the season but I can't seem to find a post specifically focusing on Mr. May.

Nicknamed the Big Bopper, Lee May came via one of the worst trades in Colt .45s/Astros franchise history. On November 29, 1971, the Astros traded Ed Armbrister, Jack Billingham, Cesar Geronimo, Denis Menke and Joe Morgan to the Cincinnati Reds for Tommy Helms, Jimmy Stewart and Lee May.

What made that such a bad trade was not that May was a terrible first basemen, it's that Morgan became a Hall of Fame second basemen in Cincinnati.

May played three seasons with Houston. From 1972-1974 may hit .274/.317/.471 for a 122 OPS+ in 1827 plate appearances.

1972, his first year, was his best year with a 137 OPS+. He followed that up with a 117 OPS+ in 1973 and a 109 OPS+ in 1974.

On December 3, 1974, May left the Astros the same way he had come to the Astros, via a trade. along with Jay Schlueter, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Rob Andrews and Enos Cabell.

Lee May may not have made up for what Joe Morgan would become, but he certainly made a small positive impact on the Astros organization.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2012/8/19/3251465/astros-history-lee-may