Lee Maye
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arthur Lee Maye (December 11, 1934 - July 17, 2002) was a Major League Baseball player and also a Rhythm & Blues singer. He is not to be confused with Lee May, a better known baseball player who played from 1965 to 1982.
Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Maye was an outfielder for the Milwaukee Braves (1959-1965), Houston Astros (1965-1966), Cleveland Indians (1967-1969), Washington Senators (1969-1970), and Chicago White Sox (1970-1971).
Maye was a fair defensive outfielder (.970) who was in the lineup for his solid left-handed bat. From 1961 to 1966, and again in 1969, he started in more than half of his team's games, with a high of 133 games started in 1964. Maye was also used quite often as a pinch-hitter during his 13-season career.
His greatest year was in 1964, for the 88-74 Milwaukee Braves who finished the season just five games behind the pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals. Maye had personal career-highs in almost every category, including 153 games played, 74 RBI, and a .304 batting average. He also led the National League with 44 doubles.
Other career highlights include:
- hit 2 home runs vs. the Chicago Cubs (August 8, 1962)
- a pair of 5-hit games...4 singles and a doubles vs. the Philadelphia Phillies (September 27, 1964) and three singles, a double, and a home run vs. the Chicago Cubs (August 11, 1966)
- eight 4-hit games, with the most impressive being two singles and two doubles, with four runs scored vs. the New York Yankees (April 21, 1970)
- five 4-RBI games, including two grand slams
- hit a combined .365 (66-for-181) against All-Stars Bob Buhl, Dean Chance, Jim Perry, Jack Sanford, and Mel Stottlemyre
- hit a combined .411 (23-for-56) against Hall of Famers Jim Palmer, Gaylord Perry, Robin Roberts, and Hoyt Wilhelm
Maye's career totals include 1,288 games played, 1,109 hits, 94 home runs, 419 RBI, and a lifetime batting average of .274.
He was also lead singer for the Los Angeles based doo-wop group Arthur Lee Maye and the Crowns in the 1950's.
Lee Maye passed away at the age of 67 in Riverside, California.
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
- Baseball Almanac\
- The Deadball Era
- Retrosheet
- His music
