Bill Lee
From BR Bullpen
Note: This page links to Bill Lee, the former Red Sox pitcher nicknamed "the Spaceman". For the major league pitcher who played from 1934 to 1947, click here. For Billy Lee, the outfielder with the St. Louis Browns (1915-1916), click here. For Bill Lee, the author of The Baseball Necrology, click here.
William Francis Lee III (Spaceman)
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 6' 3", Weight 210 lb.
- School University of Southern California
- Debut June 25, 1969
- Final Game May 7, 1982
- Born December 28, 1946 in Burbank, CA USA
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[edit] Biographical Information
Bill "The Spaceman" Lee pitched 14 years in the big leagues, all for the Boston Red Sox and the Montreal Expos. The winner of 119 games, he won 17 three times in a row in 1973-75. In 1973, his ERA was third-best in the league and he made the All-Star team.
In his time, Lee was famous as a character, but many of his funny sayings had a big grain of truth in them. Here's some:
"Baseball is the belly button of society. Straighten out baseball and you'll straighten out the rest of the world." - Bill Lee
"The lefthander's first good look at the leftfield wall, the Green Monster in Fenway, is an automatic reason for massive depression. And that's when it's viewed from the dugout." - Bill Lee, when he pitched for the Red Sox
Lee was at USC from 1966-68 (Tom Seaver had been there in 1965). By June 1969 Lee was already up in the majors.
- Bill Lee's aunt Annabelle Lee pitched in the AAGPBL.
- In 1989, Lee played for and managed the Winter Haven Super Sox of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. He was fired as manager after losing six of seven games and was replaced by Ed Nottle. He remained on the team's pitching staff and went 3-9 with a 4.96 ERA as well as playing 1st base at times. Lee batted .262 in 42 at-bats.
- In 1990 he played for the St. Petersburg Pelicans of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. He pitched in 7 Games and was 2-1 with 2 saves with a 3.79 ERA when the league folded.
- Lee estimates he still throws 200 innings a year playing in over-40 leagues in New England.
- At one time, Lee wanted to change his number to 337 since it would spell Lee upside down.
- He was known to throw a "Space Ball" or "Leephus" pitch. A version of the eephus pitch.
"The saddest day is when all the leaves fall off the trees and you shut down baseball - and you have six more months of ice hockey." - Bill Lee
[edit] Notable Achievements
- AL All-Star (1973)
- 15 Wins Seasons: 4 (1973-1975 & 1979)
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 4 (1973-1975 & 1979)
[edit] Further Reading
- Danny Gallagher: "Lee never played again after strike", in Remembering the Montreal Expos, Scoop Press, Toronto, ON, 2005, pp. 85-88.
- Bill Lee: The Wrong Stuff
