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Just completed my Bill "Spaceman" Lee Master Set

MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,838 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited March 16, 2017 3:42PM in PSA Set Registry Forum

A couple of tough cards, but don't all the Master Sets have those? Glad to get it finished.

Bill Lee was about as eclectic as they come. He was a beloved pitcher for the Red Sox from 1969-1978, then on to the Expos from 1979-1982. Lee, during his Red Sox days was perhaps most prolific with his ideas and antics. He claimed his use of marijuana made him impervious to the bus fumes as he jogged the Boston streets to Fenway Park.

Lacking a fast ball, he created the "Leephus pitch", or "Space Ball" a derivation of the Eephus pitch. Having had several differences with the then manager of the Red Sox, Don Zimmer, of Pedro Martinez fame, in 1978 he was relegated to relief pitching from the bullpen. Then, Lee formed "The Buffalo Heads", a group of relief pitchers and referred to Zimmer as the Gerbil.

Lee had a respectable record, 119-90, ERA of 3.62, with 713 strikeouts. He was an All Star in 1973 and in the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame. He started two games in the 1975 WS against the Reds. He left both games 2 and 7 with the lead, but the Red Sox lost both games.

Lee has played in numerous semi-pro teams, perhaps most notable was the "Oil Can Boyd's Travelling All Stars".

On August 23rd, 2012, Lee was signed to a one-day contract by the San Rafael Pacifics in San Rafael, CA. He pitched a complete 9 inning game, and using a home made bat, drove in the first run for the Pacifics. The team beat the Na Koa Ikaika Maui 9-4. Lee's bat and uniform were donated to the HOF following the game, which made Lee the oldest pitcher to make a starting appearance,
pitch a complete game and also to earn a win in a professional baseball game.

In 1988, Lee was the Rhinocerous Party candidate for president, running on a platform to bulldoze the Rocky Mountains so Alberta could receive a few extra minutes of sunlight. His slogan was "no guns, no butter. Both can kill". In 2016, he ran for governor of Vermont, with a slogan of "we're so far left, we're right". Lee lost the election, receiving 8,192 votes, or 2.78%.

Probably a guy you'd enjoy having a beer with, I doubt he ever has a boring day.

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