Milt May was signed as an infielder in the 11th round of the 1968 Major League Baseball draft by the Pirates, who then converted him into a catcher. He was a good handler of pitchers and a left-handed line drive hitter who rarely swung at a bad pitch, but also was reputedly the slowest runner in the majors for much of his career.\n', '

At age 21, May was a member of the Pirates team that won the 1971 World Series. In the seventh inning of Game Four of that series, his pinch-hit single drove in Bob Robertson with the winning run in a 4–3 Pirates victory. Tragedy struck the Pirates in late 1972, when outfielder Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash. May was slated to replace Clemente in the Pirates\' lineup in 1973, with catcher Manny Sanguillén moving to right field. However the experiment ended by July when it was determined that Sanguillén could not adjust to playing in the outfield and May was back on the Pirates\' bench.\n', '

After the 1973 season, May was traded to the Houston Astros for Jerry Reuss. He became the Astros starting catcher, replacing veteran Johnny Edwards. He led National League catchers with a .993 fielding percentage in 1974. May led all National League catchers in 1975 with 70 assists and 47 baserunners caught stealing. He was also charged with 18 passed balls in 1975 for the Astros, who had knuckleballer Joe Niekro on their staff. On May 4, 1975, May drove in Bob Watson for Major League Baseball\'s one millionth run.\n', '

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