Bill Lee (left-handed pitcher)
Bill Lee | |
---|---|
![]() Lee in 1976 | |
Pitcher | |
Born: Burbank, California, U.S. | December 28, 1946|
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
MLB debut | |
June 25, 1969, for the Boston Red Sox | |
Last MLB appearance | |
May 7, 1982, for the Montreal Expos | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 119–90 |
Earned run average | 3.62 |
Strikeouts | 713 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
William Francis Lee III (born December 28, 1946), nicknamed "Spaceman", is an American former
In addition to his statistical baseball accomplishments, Lee is known for his counterculture behavior, his antics both on and off the field, and his use of the "Leephus pitch", a personalized variation of the eephus pitch.[1]
Lee has co-written four books: The Wrong Stuff; Have Glove, Will Travel; The Little Red (Sox) Book: A Revisionist Red Sox History; and Baseball Eccentrics: The Most Entertaining, Outrageous, and Unforgettable Characters in the Game. In 2006, the Brett Rapkin documentary film Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey featured Lee.
Biography
Lee was born in Burbank, California,[2] into a family of former semipro and professional baseball players. His grandfather William Lee was an infielder for the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League, and his aunt Annabelle Lee was a pitcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. "She was the best athlete in the family", Lee said. "She taught me how to pitch."[3]
Lee attended and played baseball at
Lee served in the
Lee is a
Major league career
Lacking a good fastball, Lee developed off-speed pitches, including a variation of the Eephus pitch. The Leephus pitch or Space Ball, the names for Lee's take on the eephus pitch, follows a high, arcing trajectory and is very slow.
Lee is the last Red Sox player to miss time during the season for his military obligation after being on active duty in the Army Reserve from June 1 to October 1, 1970.[8]
Lee was used almost exclusively as a relief pitcher during the first four years of his career. During that period, Lee appeared in 125 games, starting in nine, and compiled a 19–11 record. In 1973, he was used primarily as a starting pitcher. He started 33 of the 38 games in which he appeared and went 17–11 with a 2.95 Earned Run Average, and was named to the American League All-Star team. He followed 1973 with two more 17-win seasons.
He started two games in the 1975 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. He left both the 2nd and 7th games with the lead, although the Red Sox lost both games and the Series. He gave up a two-run home run to Tony Perez on an eephus pitch with a three-run lead in the sixth inning of Game 7.[9]
On May 20 of the 1976 season, Lee started a game against the New York Yankees, pitching six innings, and the Red Sox won 8–2. However, the game is remembered for the final out of the sixth, when Lou Piniella of the Yankees was tagged out at home by Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk. On the play, Piniella ran into Fisk who was blocking home plate. The collision between Piniella and Fisk instigated a fight between the two players resulting in a bench-clearing brawl, during which Lee suffered a torn ligament in his pitching shoulder. Lee missed almost two months of the season and finished with a 5–7 record.[10]
Later Red Sox career
During the 1978 season, Lee and Red Sox manager Don Zimmer engaged in an ongoing public feud over the handling of the pitching staff. Lee's independence and iconoclastic nature clashed with Zimmer's old-school, conservative personality. Lee and a few other Red Sox formed what they called "The Buffalo Heads" as a response to the manager. Zimmer then relegated Lee to the bullpen, and management traded Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins and Bernie Carbo. Lee threatened to retire after his friend Carbo was traded; he subsequently referred to Zimmer as "the gerbil", which proved to be the last straw.[4] Lee briefly left the Red Sox after pitching in a 10–9 win at home over California on June 12 but returned a few days later; however, during the home stretch, when the Red Sox were battling the Yankees for the pennant, Zimmer refused to pitch Lee. The Red Sox lost the pennant in a one-game playoff with the Yankees.[citation needed]
Montreal Expos
Lee was traded at the end of 1978 to the Montreal Expos for
Reputation and controversy
Lee's personality earned him popularity as well as the nickname "Spaceman", given to him by former Red Sox infielder John Kennedy.[11] His outspoken manner and unfiltered comments were frequently recorded in the press. Lee spoke in defense of Maoist China, population control, Greenpeace,[4] and school busing in Boston,[4] among other things. Concerning the last of those issues, he defended W. Arthur Garrity Jr. by stating that he was "the only guy in this town with any guts."[2] He berated an umpire for a controversial call in the 1975 World Series, threatening to bite off his ear and encouraging the American people to write letters demanding the game be replayed.[citation needed] When asked about his views on mandatory drug testing, Lee quipped: "I've tried just about all of them, but I wouldn't want to make it mandatory".[4] In his 1984 book The Wrong Stuff, he claimed his marijuana use made him impervious to bus fumes while jogging to work at Fenway Park.[12] Much of the material in this book is, however, tongue-in-cheek.
His propensity to criticize management led to his being dropped[citation needed] from both the Red Sox and the Expos, and the end of his professional career by 1982.
Post-professional life
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Bill_%22Spaceman%22_Lee.jpg/250px-Bill_%22Spaceman%22_Lee.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Bill_%22Spaceman%22_Lee_with_2012_Boston_Marathon_runner.jpg/250px-Bill_%22Spaceman%22_Lee_with_2012_Boston_Marathon_runner.jpg)
After the Expos released Lee in May 1982, he played for
In 1988, he and his second wife, Pamela, announced plans to move to Burlington, Vermont. In 1987, he had announced plans to run for President of the United States for the Rhinoceros Party, which necessitated the move.[14][15] Since then he has played mostly as a celebrity pitcher in games around the world.[16]
Since 1999, Lee has been an ambassador for Major League Baseball to Cuba helping to bring Cuban players to the US and setting up goodwill tours especially to Canada.[17]
In 2007, Lee joined former major league players Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, Marquis Grissom, Delino DeShields, and Ken Ryan on the Oil Can Boyd's Traveling All-Stars. In June 2008, Lee pitched for the Alaska Goldpanners during the annual Midnight Sun ball game played at night during the Summer Solstice.[18]
In September 2010, Lee pitched 5+1⁄3 innings for the
On October 8, 2011, Lee participated in the "100 Innings of Baseball Game" hosted by the Boston Amateur Baseball Network to raise money for
Lee lives in northern
He is also a regular coach/pro at the annual Red Sox Baseball Fantasy Camp run by the Red Sox Organization in Florida at the team's Spring Training Facility.
Lee was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2000.[23]
In 2009, Lee released his own
On September 2, 2018, Lee played designated hitter for the Ottawa Champions.[citation needed]
Lee has been affiliated with the Savannah Bananas, an independent baseball team that also puts on comedic performances. He has occasionally appeared in games for the team as a relief pitcher. On August 19, 2022 Lee collapsed while warming up in the bullpen for a game and was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.[25]
Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey
In 2003, filmmakers
Spaceman (film)
Spaceman is a biographical film about Lee written and directed by Brett Rapkin and starring Josh Duhamel[26][27] as Lee.
Political career
In
2016 gubernatorial campaign
A longtime resident of
Lee lost the election, receiving 8,912 votes (2.78%), the second highest number of votes for a Liberty Union gubernatorial candidate in the party's history, second only to Bernie Sanders himself in 1976 who got 11,317 votes (6.1%).
Books
He is the author of four books, two written with Richard Lally, and two with Jim Prime:
- Lee, Bill, and Dick Lally (1984). The Wrong Stuff. New York: Viking Press. ISBN 0-670-76724-7.
- Lee, Bill, and Jim Prime (2003). The Little Red (Sox) Book: A Revisionist Red Sox History. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 1-57243-527-5.
- Lee, Bill, and Richard Lally (2005). Have Glove, Will Travel: Adventures of a Baseball Vagabond. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 1-4000-5407-9.
- Lee, Bill, and Jim Prime (2007). Baseball Eccentrics: The Most Entertaining, Outrageous, and Unforgettable Characters in the Game. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 1-57243-953-X.
In popular culture
Lee appears as a minor character in the 2021
Songs dedicated to Lee
- Lee is the subject of the 1980 song "Bill Lee" on Warren Zevon's album Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School.
- Lee is the subject of the 1996 song "What Bothers the Spaceman" by the Mono Puff, on their debut album Unsupervised.[32]
- Lee is the subject of the 2003 song "The Ballad of Bill Lee" by the Karl Hendricks Trio. Their album The Jerks Win Again takes its title from a lyric in this song.
References
- ^ "Bill Lee Shrine of Eternals". www.baseballreliquary.org. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved November 11, 2006.
- ^ a b Kirkpatrick, Curry. "In An Orbit All His Own", Sports Illustrated, August 7, 1978.
- ISBN 0-670-76724-7. pp. 5–6
- ^ a b c d e Dreier, Peter; Elias, Robert (July 11, 2017). "Out of Left Field". Jacobin. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- ^ a b Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "State of the State". YouTube.
- ^ a b "He Was a Pitcher Nicknamed 'Spaceman.' Now He Wants to Be a Governor". Time. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- Montreal Gazette. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ "Bill Ballou: Jeff Sellers' promising career cut short by injury, Lyme disease – No-win situation". Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
- ^ "Bill Lee Biography". BaseballLibrary.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2006. Retrieved November 11, 2006.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees Box Score, May 20, 1976".
- ^ Day, Steve. "Bill 'Spaceman' Lee entertains Red Sox Nation with stories of baseball years". villages-news.com. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- ISBN 0-670-76724-7.
- ^ Carlson, Peter (August 20, 1984). "Bill (Spaceman) Lee Takes His Last Star Turn as a Canadian Semipro". People. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
- ^ United Press International (April 10, 1988). "Lee Takes Comedy Act on the Road". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
- ^ Longman, Jere (June 7, 1987). "He'd Want 'Hail To The Chief' On A Kazoo". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
- ^ Hughson, Callum (March 9, 2010). "Spaceman: A Cuban Baseball Odyssey". Mop Up Duty. MopUpDuty.com. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
- ^ "'Spaceman' Lee Adds Curveball to Field of Governor Hopefuls". VTDigger.org. June 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- ^ Armstrong, Joshua (July 28, 2008). "Spaceman's Midnight Sun Game was one for the ages". Daily News-Miner. Retrieved October 13, 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Bill Lee starts and wins independent league game at age 63 | HardballTalk
- ^ Tornadoes manager Rich Gedman left impressed by Bill Lee's performance – News – The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA – Quincy, MA Archived September 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Brown, Daniel (August 24, 2012). "Ex-big leaguer 'Spaceman' Bill Lee earns victory for Pacifics". Bay Area News Group. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
- ^ "Bill "Spaceman" Lee, Age 66, Played All Nine Positions Last Night". August 22, 2013.
- ^ "Shrine of the Eternals – Inductees" Archived September 19, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Baseball Reliquary. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
- ^ Bill Lee Speaks Highly of Terry Francona's Managerial Abilities, Says Daniel Bard Needs to Be More Aggressive | Boston Red Sox | NESN.com
- ^ "Former major league pitcher Bill Lee collapses while warming up for Savannah Bananas". ESPN News Services. August 20, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
- ^ "Josh Duhamel Hits the Mound as One of Baseball's All-Time Great Eccentrics in 'Spaceman' [Watch]".
- ^ Alex Billington (June 8, 2016). "First Teaser for Baseball Drama 'Spaceman' Featuring Josh Duhamel". firstshowing.net. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Vermont's Most Famous Former Baseball Player's Pitch For Governor". WCAX-TV. Archived from the original on May 27, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
- ^ "The Spaceman throws hat in for Vermont governor". Boston Herald. May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ "Bill 'Spaceman' Lee, former Expos pitcher, announces candidacy for governor of Vermont". CBC Radio. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ Dale, Daniel (May 25, 2016). "Bill (Spaceman) Lee launches run for Vermont governor". Toronto Star. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- ^ http://tmbw.net/wiki/What_Bothers_The_Spaceman%3F "What Bothers The Spaceman" at This Might Be a Wiki
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or SABR Biography Project, or Retrosheet, or Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)