The next ballplayer that gets a card in my custom "Classic Baseball" set, the "Big Bopper" Lee May of the Cincinnati Reds:
You have to wonder what could have been with May, since he was
already a feared slugger putting together a very nice career before he
was traded to the Astros as part of the Joe Morgan trade before the 1972
season opened up.
Would the "Big Red Machine" have happened? If so, would May's
legacy on the diamond have been elevated to the point of true stardom?
He put up big seasons with the Reds, the Astros, and then the
Orioles before ending his career after two partial seasons with the
Royals in 1982.
His total numbers are very good, especially for a guy who played
the bulk of his career in the "dead" late-60's/early-70's: 959 runs,
2031 hits, 354 home runs and 1244 runs batted in.
His last year in Cincinnati, 1971, was killer: 39 homers with 98
R.B.I.'s, 85 runs scored and a .278 average to complement the likes of
Pete Rose, Tony Perez and Johnny Bench.
Granted the guy struck out a ton, and his final batting average of
.267 leaves a lot to be desired, but it's interesting to wonder "what
could have been" with both his career and the legend of the Reds teams
of the mid-70's.