Bill Spaceman Lee

"Keep it as natural as possible. As far as hydroponics goes, don't use the chemical additives. Try to live an organic life. Make brownies. Also, kill all the males!" - Bill Lee

"I don't smoke that much. Whatever I smoked last night is my favorite. It's like a dog when he wakes up: "Oh, that's my favorite meal!" or "That's my favorite walk!" I'm like that dog—easily pleased. I like pot that you can take one hit, put it down, and go for the whole day and do what you have to do—break a sweat, have two beers, fix a good meal and not even think about it.

See, a true Rastafarian and a Zen Buddhist are the same. I'm trying to blend those two cultures and societies in a matrix that comes together. All I have to do is recall and I'm there: "Oh yeah, remember that pot—the one that left me in the elevator in Cleveland with the door closing on me? Wow, that was good shit!" - Bill Lee

On his pregame habits: "I told [reporters] that I sprinkled marijuana on my organic buckwheat pancakes, and then when I ran my five miles to the ballpark, it made me impervious to the bus fumes. That's when [Baseball Commissioner] Bowie Kuhn took me off his Christmas list." - Bill Lee

"Something was definitely happening to me. My brain would start clicking into another dimension or time warp. It was as if everything was in 3-D, and I could visually grasp all three sides at once. Aside from that, I didn't get much of a buzz." - Bill Lee



William Francis Lee III (born December 28, 1946), (nicknamed "Spaceman"), is an American athlete and retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Boston Red Sox from 1969-1978 and the Montreal Expos from 1979-1982.

On February 25, 2008 the Red Sox organization announced that Bill Lee will be inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame on November 7, 2008. Lee will be inducted as record-holder for most games pitched by a left-hander (321) in team history and the third-highest win total (94) by a southpaw. On June 21, 2008, Lee was the starting pitcher for the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks for the 103rd Midnight Sun Game... an event he last pitched in 1967 (losing to the Japan Amateur National Champion Kumagai-Gumi on seven unearned runs).

Lee is known for his adherence to the counterculture behavior, his antics both on and off the field, and his use of the Leephus pitch, a personalized variation of the eephus pitch.

Lee has 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 documentary film Spaceman in Cuba featured Lee.

Lee's personality earned him popularity as well as the nickname "Spaceman". His intelligence, articulate conversational style, humorous voice, and outspoken manner meant his views were frequently recorded in the press. He spoke in defense of Maoist China (once visiting, only to lampoon it endlessly), population control, Greenpeace, school busing in Boston and anything else that happened to cross his mind. 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. He ate health food and practiced yoga. He claimed his marijuana use made him impervious to bus fumes while jogging to work at Fenway Park. He sang Warren Zevon songs at times, and in an act of mutual admiration, Zevon recorded a song entitled "Bill Lee" on his album Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School. In a college town like Boston, his views were shared by many youths, and they quickly became Lee's biggest fans.

Despite his views on off-the-field matters, Lee was respected by fellow players, who believed his cajoling of the press took pressure off the team, and his attitude on the field was pure business. He was intensely competitive, and worked quickly, which always endears a pitcher to his teammates.

But Lee would often speak out on matters concerning the team and was not afraid to criticize management, causing him to be dropped from both the Red Sox and Expos.

Lee countered his offbeat politics with a strong sense of the game. He is an avowed purist and traditionalist, speaking out against the designated hitter, AstroTurf and polyester uniforms, while conversely extolling the virtues of day games and Sunday doubleheaders.

Bill Lee Quotes:

"The other day they asked me about mandatory drug testing. I said I believed in drug testing a long time ago. All through the sixties I tested everything."

"I think about the cosmic snowball theory. A few million years from now the sun will burn out and lose its gravitational pull. The earth will turn into a giant snowball and be hurled through space. When that happens it won't matter if I get this guy out."

"People are too hung up on winning. I can get off on a really good helmet throw." Source: The Baseball Card Engagement Book (1990)

"The only rule I got is if you slide, get up." Source: USA Today (October 25, 1989)

"You have two hemispheres in your brain - a left and a right side. The left side controls the right side of your body and right controls the left half. It's a fact. Therefore, left-handers are the only people in their right minds." Source: Sports Illustrated (April 7, 1980)

"You take a team with twenty-five assholes and I'll show you a pennant. I'll show you the New York Yankees."

The Ballad of Bill Lee
by Warren Zevon

"You're supposed to sit on your ass
And nod at stupid things
Man, that's hard to do.
And if you don't, they'll screw you.
And if you do they'll screw you too.

When I'm standing in the middle of the diamond all alone
I always play to win when it comes to skin and bone

But sometimes I say things I shouldn't....
Sometimes I say things I shouldn't."

Bill Spaceman Lee signs his autograph then writes a planet's name with his number next to his signature.

Stats:

Born: December 28, 1946 (age 61)
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
June 25, 1969
for the Boston Red Sox
Final game
May 7, 1982
for the Montreal Expos
Career statistics
Win-Loss record 119-90
ERA 3.92
Strike Outs 713
Teams

Boston Red Sox (1969-1979)
Montreal Expos (1979-1982)
Career highlights and awards
Member of the 1973 American League All-Star Team
Won 17 games each year from 1973-1975