Carlos May

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1968-1977)

Carlos May was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1977 for the Chicago White Sox, the New York Yankees, and the California Angels, a span of 10 seasons. In 1,165 career games, he hit .274 with 1,127 hits, 90 home runs, and 536 RBI. Carlos May was a 2-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 7,985.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .274
HR 90
RBI 536
H 1,127
OPS .749
PIV 7,985
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 200 lb
Born
5/17/1948 in Birmingham, AL, USA
MLB Debut
1968-09-06
Last Game
1977-10-02
Awards
2× All-Star
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Career Batting Statistics

Carlos May — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,165 4,120 545 1,127 172 23 90 536 85 512 565 .274 .357 .392 .749 7,985

Career AVG .274 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — +8.2% above league average.

Career OBP .357 vs. league average .320 across their career seasons — +11.5% above league average.

Career SLG .392 vs. league average .371 across their career seasons — +5.7% above league average.

Career OPS .749 vs. league average .691 across their career seasons — +8.4% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Carlos May Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1968 CHA AL 17 67 4 12 1 0 0 1 0 3 15 .179 .236 (-24%) .298 (-28%) .340 (-43%) .638 (-36%) -341.0
1969 CHA AL 100 367 62 103 18 2 18 62 1 58 66 .281 .248 (+13%) .320 (+20%) .369 (+32%) .689 (+27%) 1908.3
1970 CHA AL 150 555 83 158 28 4 12 68 12 79 96 .285 .253 (+12%) .325 (+15%) .385 (+8%) .711 (+11%) 1383.5
1971 CHA AL 141 500 64 147 21 7 7 70 16 62 61 .294 .249 (+18%) .316 (+18%) .365 (+11%) .682 (+15%) 1550.1
1972 CHA AL 148 523 83 161 26 3 12 68 23 79 70 .308 .243 (+26%) .310 (+30%) .353 (+24%) .664 (+27%) 3033.4
1973 CHA AL 149 553 62 148 20 0 20 96 8 53 73 .268 .256 (+4%) .325 (+3%) .378 (+9%) .703 (+6%) 676.4
1974 CHA AL 149 551 66 137 19 2 8 58 8 46 76 .249 .256 (-3%) .324 (-6%) .369 (-10%) .693 (-8%) -672.0
1975 CHA AL 128 454 55 123 19 2 8 53 12 67 46 .271 .257 (+5%) .327 (+14%) .374 (avg) .701 (+7%) 837.1
1976 CHA AL 20 63 7 11 2 0 0 3 4 9 5 .175 .255 (-32%) .320 (-13%) .360 (-43%) .681 (-29%) -251.9
1976 NYA AL 87 288 38 80 11 2 3 40 1 34 32 .278 .255 (+9%) .320 (+12%) .360 (avg) .681 (+6%) -251.9
1977 NYA AL 65 181 21 41 7 1 2 16 0 17 24 .227 .264 (-14%) .329 (-11%) .401 (-23%) .730 (-18%) -519.2
1977 CAL AL 11 18 0 6 0 0 0 1 0 5 1 .333 — — — — -519.2
Career · 12 seasons 1,165 4,120 545 1,127 172 23 90 536 85 512 565 .274 — — — — 6,834

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Carlos May — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
7 19 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 5 .105

Playoff Batting by Year

Carlos May — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1976 ALCS NYA 3 10 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 4 .200
1976 WS NYA 4 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1165 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Carlos May — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home586202628757749294.285
Away579209425855041242.263

Last 10 Games — Batting

Carlos May — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1977-10-02 LAAKCRL 101000000
1977-09-27 LAAMILL 100000000
1977-09-25 LAAKCRL 101000000
1977-09-24 LAAKCRL 301000110
1977-09-23 LAAKCRL 100000001
1977-09-22 LAATEXL 000000010
1977-09-21 LAATEXL 300000010
1977-09-20 LAATEXW 200000020
1977-09-19 LAATEXL 402000000
1977-09-18 LAACHWL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Carlos May — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 211 200 1837 133 27 151
OF 677 667 1083 60 18 6

Season-by-Season Fielding

Carlos May — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1968 CHA OF 17 17 24 0 1 0
1969 CHA OF 100 98 154 10 3 0
1970 CHA 1B 7 7 73 11 2 6
1970 CHA OF 141 141 203 12 2 2
1971 CHA 1B 130 123 1189 71 18 90
1971 CHA OF 9 9 17 1 1 0
1972 CHA 1B 5 2 32 2 1 0
1972 CHA OF 145 144 215 13 4 2
1973 CHA 1B 2 2 11 1 0 0
1973 CHA OF 70 70 118 7 1 0
1974 CHA OF 129 126 245 11 3 1
1975 CHA 1B 63 62 508 46 6 54
1975 CHA OF 46 45 72 6 2 1
1976 CHA OF 9 8 13 0 0 0
1976 NYA 1B 1 1 9 0 0 0
1976 NYA OF 7 7 19 0 1 0
1977 NYA OF 4 2 3 0 0 0
1977 CAL 1B 3 3 15 2 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Carlos May Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 211
Left Field 653
Right Field 26
Designated Hitter 242

Awards & Honors

Carlos May — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1969 TSN Rookie Player of the Year

Award Voting History

Carlos May — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1973 Most Valuable Player AL 29th 3.0 336 0
1972 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 6.0 336 0
1969 Rookie of the Year AL 3rd 5.0 24 5

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Carlos May (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Johnny Groth
    .279 avg, 60 HR
  2. 96
    Al Zarilla
    .276 avg, 61 HR
  3. 96
    Willie Crawford
    .268 avg, 86 HR
  4. 96
    Johnny Wyrostek
    .271 avg, 58 HR
  5. 95
    Jim Russell
    .267 avg, 67 HR
  6. 91
    Cleon Jones
    .281 avg, 93 HR

Compare Carlos May

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against May's closest peers by position and era.

vs Lee May

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Carlos May: the record in brief

According to the bio, Carlos May debuted on September 6, 1968 and played a final game on October 2, 1977. The season rows list, in order, the Chicago White Sox (1968 to 1976), the New York Yankees (1976 through 1977), and the California Angels (1977). May played primarily as an outfielder and hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on May 17, 1948, in Birmingham, AL, USA and a listed size of 5'11" and 200 pounds.

The batting record for May: 1,165 games, 1,127 hits in 4,120 at bats, and a .274 average, along with 90 homers, 536 RBI, and 85 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .357 clip and slugging .392, May finished with a .749 OPS. Measured against the leagues May played in, the .274 career average compares with a .253 league average over the same seasons, 8.2% above the league. In OPS terms, May's .749 stands 8.4% above the league's .691.

Frequently Asked Questions about Carlos May

What years did Carlos May play?
Carlos May played in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1977.
Was Carlos May a pitcher?
No. Carlos May was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Carlos May hit?
Carlos May hit 90 career home runs with 1127 hits.
What was Carlos May's career batting average?
Carlos May batted .274 over his career, with 1,127 hits in 4,120 at bats.
How many RBI did Carlos May have?
Carlos May drove in 536 runs in his career.
Is Carlos May in the Hall of Fame?
No. Carlos May has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.