Derrick May (baseball) facts for kids

Derrick Brant May (born July 14, 1968) is an American former professional baseball player. He was an outfielder, which means he played in the outfield of the baseball field. Derrick May played for many teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1990 to 1999. These teams included the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos, and Baltimore Orioles.

He also played baseball in Japan for three seasons. From 2001 to 2003, he played for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). After his playing career, Derrick May became a coach. He is currently a hitting coach for the Piratas de Campeche in the Mexican League.

Derrick May has received several awards for his sports achievements. He was named the Delaware Athlete of the Year in 1993. He was also inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2015, he joined the Delaware Afro-American Hall of Fame. In 2019, he was honored by being elected into the Delaware Baseball Hall of Fame.

Playing Baseball: Derrick May's Career

Derrick May was a left-handed batter and threw the ball with his right hand. Before playing professionally, he was going to play both football and baseball at Virginia Tech university. However, the Chicago Cubs drafted him in the first round of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft. He was only 17 years old at the time.

May had a long and successful professional baseball career that lasted 18 years. Ten of those years were spent playing in the major leagues. During his time in MLB, he had a batting average of .271. He also hit 52 home runs and had 310 RBI (runs batted in) in 797 games.

When he played in Japan, he hit even more home runs. In just three seasons, he hit 59 home runs and had a batting average of .274. His best season in MLB was in 1993. That year, he had a .295 batting average, hit 10 home runs, and had 77 RBI. He also scored 62 runs, hit 25 doubles, and stole 10 stolen bases. These were all career-high numbers for him.

Coaching Baseball: Helping Other Players

After his playing days, Derrick May became a baseball coach. He worked for the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 2005 to 2016. He started as a minor league hitting coach and later became an assistant MLB hitting coach.

• In 2005, he coached the Palm Beach Cardinals to win the Florida State League Championship.
• In 2007, he was promoted to coach the Springfield Cardinals (Double-A team). They made it to the championship finals of the Texas League. His team was known for being great hitters.
• From 2011 to 2016, he worked as the St. Louis Cardinals' minor league hitting coordinator. This meant he helped oversee the hitting development for all their minor league teams.
• In 2014, he received the George Kissell award for his excellent work in developing players.
• In 2016, he became an assistant hitting coach for the main St. Louis Cardinals team.
• In 2017, he joined the Colorado Rockies organization. He was the hitting coach for the Lancaster JetHawks. His team led their league in hitting, hits, and stolen bases.

In 2021, Derrick May was named the manager of the Frederick Keys. This is a collegiate summer baseball team that plays in the MLB Draft League. In January 2022, he took on a new role. He became the Organization Hitting Coordinator for the SSG Landers in the KBO League in South Korea.

Derrick May's Family in Baseball

Baseball runs in Derrick May's family! His father, Dave May, was also a professional baseball outfielder in the major leagues. Derrick's brother, David May, Jr., works as a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays. A scout helps find new talented players.

Derrick May's oldest son, Derrick Jr., was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. Another one of his sons, Donovan, is also involved in baseball. Donovan works as a scout for the Boston Red Sox.

See also

• List of second-generation Major League Baseball players
• List of St. Louis Cardinals coaches