May’s day
Dave May toils for five-plus seasons in the minor leagues before the Baltimore Orioles give him a chance midway through the 1967 season.
May, a left handed-hitting outfielder, bounces to and from the minors until 1969, when he wins a spot on the bench as a backup for a Baltimore Orioles team that dominates everyone during the regular season only to fall to the New York Mets in the World Series.
Still stuck on the bench to start the 1970 season, May finds himself going to Milwaukee in an early season trade for a couple of journeyman pitchers in Dick Baney and Buzz Stephen, who quickly become the answers to the trivia question of who did the Orioles get from the Brewers for Dave May?
Not that May cares as he gets to play every day in Milwaukee and even becomes an American League All-Star in 1973.
After a dismal 1974 season, though, May finds himself to be the answer of another trivia question as to which player did Milwaukee acquire 50 years ago today from Atlanta for their onetime All-Star, the aforementioned Dave May?
Oh, that player would be a 40-year outfielder named Hank Aaron, who earlier in the spring of 1974 passes Babe Ruth atop the all-time list for home runs.
Aaron, whose Hall of Fame career with the Braves starts in 1954 when they are located in Milwaukee, spends his final two seasons as the Brewers’ designated hitter in a homecoming of sorts.
Hank Aaron with the Brewers in 1976
Aaron retires after the 1976 season with 755 career home runs, 3,771 hits, 2,297 runs batted in and 25 All-Star Game selections,
Alas for May, there are two forgettable seasons in Atlanta before the Braves repackage him to the Texas Rangers as part of a five-for-one deal that brings former American League MVP Jeff Burroughs to the Braves.
May drifts back to Milwaukee for part of the 1978 season, his last in the majors and four years before Aaron is inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“I was surprised, yes,” May tells The Sporting News at the time of his 1974 trade for Aaron. “Me for Hank Aaron. He is one of the best in baseball. I had been wondering about it, though. I realized a trade for Hank was going to be made and that somebody had to go.
“I had a bad year (in 1974), so I knew it was possible that I would be the one. But though I kind of expected to be traded well, me for Hank Aaron still stunned me.”