Joe Mays (born Joseph Emerson Mays on December 10, 1975 in Flint, Michigan, USA) is a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He is currently a starting pitcher for the Louisville Bats, the AAA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. He pitched for the Minnesota Twins from 1999-2005. Mays is a 1994 graduate of Southeast High School in Bradenton, Florida, USA. He also attended Manatee Community College in Bradenton. Joe and his wife, Melinda (née Rogers), have two children.
Mays began his major league career with the Twins on April 7, 1999. He missed all of the 2004 season to have Tommy John surgery performed on his pitching arm. Through 2003, he has posted a 42-55 record with a 4.70 ERA. Mays successfully bounced back from his surgery to rejoin the Twins' starting rotation at the beginning of the 2005 season, and recorded his first win since the 2003 season on April 27, 2005 against the Kansas City Royals.
Joe is a descendant of submarine pitcher Carl Mays, who fatally hit Ray Chapman with a pitch during a game on August 17, 1920.
Due to his losing record and disappointing ERA, on August 26, 2005, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire demoted Mays to the Twins bullpen and called up Scott Baker from AAA Rochester to replace Mays in the pitching rotation.
On October 7, 2005 the Twins chose not to renew Mays' contract for 2006, making him a free agent. He signed with the Kansas City Royals on December 23, 2005.
Mays' Royals career was short-lived, as he was released on May 16, 2006 after posting an 0-4 record in 6 starts with a 10.27 ERA. On May 19, 2006, Mays signed a minor league conract with the Louisville Bats, where he'll attempt again to revive his career following Tommy John surgery.
