Bill Lee (born December 28, 1946), nicknamed Spaceman, is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher…..who played for the Boston Red Sox from 1969 – 1978….and the Montreal Expos from 1979 – 1982…..when on November 7, 2008….Lee was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame….as the team’s record-holder for most games pitched by a left-handed pitcher with 321….and the third-highest win total of 94 by a Red Sox southpaw. On August 23, 2012, Lee signed a contract to play with the San Rafael Pacifics of the independent North American League at age 65.
In addition to his baseball experience….Spaceman is known for his counter culture behavior….his antics both on and off the field….and his use of the Leephus pitch….which was a personalized variation of the eephus pitch….which was a pitch in baseball that is thrown at a very low-speed that is known as a junk pitch…..as the delivery from the pitcher has very low velocity….and usually catches the hitter off-guard.
Lee has co-written four books including The Wrong Stuff….Have Glove, Will Travel….The Little Red (Sox) BookA Revisionist Red Sox History….and Baseball Eccentrics: The Most Entertaining, Outrageous, and Unforgettable Characters in the Game. In 2006, the documentary film by Brett Rapkin called Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey….which featured Lee.
This Strohs’ Circle of Sports special with hostess Lisa Bowd provides a wonderful look inside the mind and character of Bill Spaceman Lee….and we at ImaSportsphile consider this piece another “nugget of gold” in our treasure chest of vintage memories….for Spaceman is an athlete that certainly deserves his place in baseball history.
