Jakie May

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1917-1932)

Jakie May was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1917 to 1932 for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Chicago Cubs, a span of 16 seasons. Across 410 career appearances, he went 72-95 with a 3.88 ERA and 765 strikeouts. He also batted .171 with 2 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 11014.4.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 72–95
ERA 3.88
WHIP 1.45
SO 765
Pitcher PIV 11014.4
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / L
Height / Weight
5'8" / 178 lb
Born
11/25/1895 in Youngsville, NC, USA
Died
6/3/1970 in Raleigh, NC, USA
MLB Debut
1917-06-26
Last Game
1932-09-25

Full name: Frank Spruiell May

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Career Pitching Statistics

Jakie May — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
72 95 410 161 70 7 19 1562.1 1,645 673 35 617 765 3.88 11014.4

Career ERA 3.88 vs. league average 3.97 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jakie May Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1917 SLN NL 0 0 15 1 0 0 0 29.1 29 11 11 18 3.38 2.69 (-26%) 150.8
1918 SLN NL 5 6 29 15 6 0 0 152.2 149 65 69 61 3.83 2.83 (-35%) -1704.0
1919 SLN NL 3 12 28 19 8 1 0 125.2 99 45 87 58 3.22 3.09 (-4%) -3179.9
1920 SLN NL 1 4 16 5 3 0 0 70.2 65 24 37 33 3.06 3.45 (+11%) -498.4
1921 SLN NL 1 3 5 5 1 0 0 21.0 29 11 12 5 4.71 4.02 (-17%) -201.5
1924 CIN NL 3 3 38 4 2 0 6 99.0 104 33 29 59 3.00 4.13 (+27%) 1996.4
1925 CIN NL 8 9 36 12 7 1 2 137.1 146 59 45 74 3.87 4.55 (+15%) 2147.7
1926 CIN NL 13 9 45 15 9 1 3 167.2 175 60 44 103 3.22 4.11 (+22%) 4533.2
1927 CIN NL 15 12 44 28 17 2 1 235.2 242 92 70 121 3.51 4.08 (+14%) 4515.8
1928 CIN NL 3 5 21 11 1 1 1 79.1 99 39 35 39 4.42 4.13 (-7%) 1004.1
1929 CIN NL 10 14 41 24 10 0 3 199.0 219 102 75 92 4.61 4.60 (avg) 2685.0
1930 CIN NL 3 11 26 18 5 1 0 112.1 147 72 41 44 5.77 4.80 (-20%) 76.2
1931 CHN NL 5 5 31 4 1 0 2 79.0 81 34 43 38 3.87 4.10 (+6%) -302.3
1932 CHN NL 2 2 35 0 0 0 1 53.2 61 26 19 20 4.36 4.13 (-6%) -208.8
Career · 14 seasons 72 95 410 161 70 7 19 1,562.1 1,645 673 617 765 3.88 — 11,014

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.

Career Batting Statistics

Jakie May — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
410 468 33 80 10 5 2 24 0 28 120 .171 .221 .226 .447 -1,556

Career AVG .171 vs. league average .278 across their career seasons — 38.5% below league average.

Career OBP .221 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — 35.0% below league average.

Career SLG .226 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — 41.3% below league average.

Career OPS .447 vs. league average .726 across their career seasons — 38.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jakie 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
1917 SLN NL 15 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
1918 SLN NL 29 45 2 3 0 0 1 3 0 8 17 .067 — — — — -294.9
1919 SLN NL 28 37 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 11 .162 — — — — 0.0
1920 SLN NL 16 22 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 3 8 .227 — — — — 0.0
1921 SLN NL 5 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1924 CIN NL 38 27 2 3 0 0 1 2 0 0 12 .111 — — — — 0.0
1925 CIN NL 36 43 4 8 1 1 0 4 0 3 9 .186 — — — — 0.0
1926 CIN NL 45 48 4 7 0 0 0 0 0 5 13 .146 — — — — -357.9
1927 CIN NL 44 76 6 14 3 1 0 5 0 3 19 .184 .282 (-35%) .344 (-35%) .392 (-36%) .736 (-36%) -452.0
1928 CIN NL 21 27 2 8 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 .296 — — — — 0.0
1929 CIN NL 41 64 5 13 3 0 0 4 0 0 13 .203 .289 (-30%) .353 (-43%) .415 (-40%) .769 (-41%) -451.3
1930 CIN NL 26 39 3 5 1 2 0 2 0 2 7 .128 — — — — 0.0
1931 CHN NL 31 22 3 5 2 0 0 2 0 1 6 .227 — — — — 0.0
1932 CHN NL 35 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .125 — — — — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 410 468 33 80 10 5 2 24 0 28 120 .171 — — — — -1,556

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

Jakie May — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Jakie May — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1932 WS CHN 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Jakie May — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 2 0 0 4.2 9 6 3 4 11.57

Playoff Pitching by Year

Jakie May — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1932 WS CHN 0 1 2 0 0 4.2 9 6 3 4 11.57

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (820 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Jakie May — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1992311940115.173
Away211235144019.170

Pitching — Home / Away

Jakie May — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home199801.17912983023843.35
Away211762.08533723153874.39

Last 10 Games — Batting

Jakie May — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1932-09-25 CHCCINL 000000000
1932-09-24 CHCCINW 100000000
1932-09-21 CHCPITL 000000000
1932-09-07 CHCBSNL 000000000
1932-09-05 CHCCINL 101000000
1932-08-30 CHCNY1W 000000000
1932-08-20 CHCPHIW 000000000
1932-08-14 CHCSTLL 000000000
1932-08-06 CHCPHIW 000000000
1932-08-05 CHCPHIL 100000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Jakie May — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1932-09-25 CHCCIN — 1.0000000
1932-09-24 CHCCIN W 3.0000110
1932-09-21 CHCPIT — 1.2211000
1932-09-07 CHCBSN — 0.2000000
1932-09-05 CHCCIN L 1.2122200
1932-08-30 CHCNY1 — 0.1010200
1932-08-20 CHCPHI W 1.0200000
1932-08-14 CHCSTL — 1.0000000
1932-08-06 CHCPHI SV 0.1000000
1932-08-05 CHCPHI — 3.1533100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jakie May — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 410 0 53 321 9 17

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jakie May — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1917 SLN P 15 0 3 14 0 1
1918 SLN P 29 0 6 33 2 0
1919 SLN P 28 0 1 30 1 0
1920 SLN P 16 0 0 10 0 0
1921 SLN P 5 0 0 3 1 0
1924 CIN P 38 0 2 21 0 0
1925 CIN P 36 0 5 30 0 2
1926 CIN P 45 0 6 30 1 5
1927 CIN P 44 0 6 51 0 2
1928 CIN P 21 0 4 12 0 1
1929 CIN P 41 0 6 40 1 2
1930 CIN P 26 0 6 23 1 1
1931 CHN P 31 0 4 14 0 3
1932 CHN P 35 0 4 10 2 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jakie May Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 410

Award Voting History

Jakie May — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1927 Most Valuable Player NL 13th 6.0 80 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Bob Shirley
    67-94, 3.82 ERA
  2. 82
    Dan Spillner
    75-89, 4.21 ERA
  3. 80
    Joe Haynes
    76-82, 4.01 ERA
  4. 78
    Al Benton
    98-88, 3.66 ERA
  5. 76
    Allen Russell
    71-76, 3.52 ERA
  6. 75
    Frank Foreman
    96-93, 3.97 ERA

Jakie May: the record in brief

Jakie May's major league career runs from a debut on June 26, 1917 to a final game on September 25, 1932. The season rows list, in order, the St. Louis Cardinals (1917 through 1921), the Cincinnati Reds (1924 through 1930), and the Chicago Cubs (1931 through 1932). May played primarily as a pitcher and batted right-handed and threw left-handed. The bio adds a birth date on November 25, 1895, in Youngsville, NC, USA and a listed size of 5 feet, 8 inches and 178 pounds. May's death is recorded on June 3, 1970, in Raleigh, NC, USA. May's full given name, per the bio, is Frank Spruiell May.

The pitching table credits May with a 72-95 record and a 3.88 ERA in 410 games. May had 765 strikeouts, 70 complete games, 7 shutouts, and 19 saves. May's 3.88 ERA was close to the 3.97 league figure for those seasons. 1927 brought May a season-high 15 wins.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jakie May

What years did Jakie May play?
Jakie May played in Major League Baseball from 1917 to 1932.
Was Jakie May a pitcher?
Yes. Jakie May pitched in the major leagues, recording 72 wins and 765 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Jakie May hit?
Jakie May hit 2 career home runs with 80 hits.
What teams did Jakie May play for?
Jakie May played for 3 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1917–1921), the Cincinnati Reds (1924–1930), and the Chicago Cubs (1931–1932).
What were Jakie May's career stats?
In 410 games, Jakie May went 72-95 with a 3.88 ERA, 765 strikeouts, 1,562.1 innings pitched, and 19 saves. At the plate he had 80 hits and 2 home runs.
What position did Jakie May play?
Jakie May played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Jakie May and how much did he weigh?
Jakie May was listed at 5 feet 8 inches and 178 pounds.
What was Jakie May's career ERA?
Jakie May finished with a 3.88 career ERA, going 72-95 with 765 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Jakie May have?
Jakie May recorded 765 career strikeouts.
Is Jakie May in the Hall of Fame?
No. Jakie May has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.