Lee Maye

Arthur Lee Maye

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 190 lb.
• High School Thomas Jefferson High School (Los Angeles)
• Debut July 17, 1959
• Final Game June 29, 1971
• Born December 11, 1934 in Tuscaloosa, AL USA
• Died July 17, 2002 in Riverside, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Nineteen-year-old Lee Maye was signed as an amateur free agent by the Milwaukee Braves in June of 1954. He was assigned to the Boise Pilots of the class C Pioneer League and the line drive-hitting outfielder hit for an average of .319 with 9 homers his first year out. The left-handed hitter spent six years in the minors; probably his best season coming up was be with the Evansville Braves in 1956. That season, he hit .330 and led the class B Three-I League in three categories: runs scored (103), base hits (159) and RBI (99); he also cracked 24 round-trippers. This definitely helped his team win the pennant and Lee to make the All-Star team.

Lee got his call to the major leagues in July of 1959 when he was hitting .340 with 17 round-trippers with the Louisville Colonels of the AAA American Association. He finished out the year with the Milwaukee Braves hitting an even .300 in 51 games. Lee split his season again in 1960, hitting .311 with Louisville and .302 with the Braves. He then spent 13 consecutive seasons in the big leagues, ending in 1971.

Maye was often used as a platoon player, but in 1964, when he appeared in over 150 games for the only time, the left-hand swinging outfielder led the National League in doubles with 44 while hitting a career-high .304, joining Rico Carty (.330) and Hank Aaron (.323) in an all .300-hitting outfield.

In 1965 Milwaukee traded Lee to the Houston Astros, where he was until 1967 when the Astros sent him to the Cleveland Indians. He was with Cleveland until June 20, 1969 when they sent him to the Washington Senators. On September 11, 1970 he was selected off waivers by the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox released Lee on June 7, 1971. This finished Lee's 13-year major league run with 94 home runs and a career .274 batting average. Maye also had a nine-year look at the minor leagues where he had a very creditable .309 batting average with 128 homers.

Lee had spent 1954 through 1972 in pro baseball but his departure from the game did not leave Lee high and dry. He was able to mix baseball and music in the 1950s and 1960s, recording and performing in the off-seasons with his group, Arthur Lee Maye and the Crowns. His West Coast doo-wop sound produced some marginal hit recordings such as "Truly" and "Love Me Always." Lee was later associated with Johnny Otis and his group the "Jayos." Maye still recorded and performed solo well into the 1980s. He died on July 17, 2002, at age 67 in Riverside, CA.

Miscellaneous

Maye was the first major league batter to face Bert Blyleven. Leading off the 1st inning on June 5, 1970, Maye welcomed Blyleven with a home run.

Notable Achievements

• NL Doubles Leader (1964)

Sources

• Baseball Players of the 1950s
  
• Minors Page
  

External links

• Lee Maye at the SABR Bio Project
• Arthur Lee Maye as a Rhythm & Blues singer