Cake or Gum? 1976 Lee May

Last time gum won, 5-2. Gum May win here, or it May not.

Hostess goes for a spring training shot, with a bit of an awkward batting pose. Topps captured May before a game at Oakland Coliseum. There appears to be some fraternizing with the enemy going on in the background, with some players in Orioles caps talking to someone in an A's cap.

Underrated in his time and somewhat forgotten today, Lee May was a very productive slugging first baseman with 11 straight seasons of 20+ HR. May was one of the stars of the early Big Red Machine, with 111 HR over three seasons ('69-'71), helping them win the 1970 NL pennant. However, the Reds decided to go with Tony Perez as their first baseman and traded May to the Astros for Joe Morgan. That trade worked so well for Cincinnati that it's easy to forget that May was excellent for Houston, hitting 81 HR over three years in one of the toughest hitting parks in the majors. The Astros then traded him to the Orioles, and he continued to hit well there. In 1977 rookie Eddie Murray took over as first baseman, relegating May to DH. He ended his career with two years with the Royals. Overall in 2,071 games over 18 seasons, May hit .267 with 354 HR and 1,244 RBI. After his playing career he was a minor league coach for several seasons. He died in 2017.