Carlos May

May was perhaps the only player in baseball history to wear his birth date on the back of his uniform – May 17. In 1969 he was an All-Star and the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year when, on Marine reserve duty at Camp Pendleton in August, a mortar misfired and blew off part of his right thumb. He was hitting .281 at the time, with 18 home runs and 62 RBI. May showed determination through several painful skin graft operations and was named TSN Rookie of the Year, but lost the BBWAA vote to Lou Piniella (.282, 11 HR, 68 RBI). He returned in 1970, and while he never posted the numbers his older brother Lee did, Carlos was always a good contact hitter. He reached career highs of .308 in 1972, and 20 HR and 96 RBI in 1973. Occasionally criticized in Chicago for lackadaisical outfield play, he was traded to the Yankees in May 1976, and shared DH duty with Piniella in the ’76 LCS and WS.