Sarris: Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee, still pitching and still fascinating at age 69
From SABR member Eno Sarris at The Hardball Times on August 15, 2016:
f gracing the pages of both High Times and Sports illustrated magazines doesn’t make Bill “Spaceman” Lee interesting to you, there’s plenty more to catch your attention. The time he pitched drunk, or the fact that he throws his own branded eephus, or the fact that he still pitches (professionally!) today while running a campaign for Governor of Vermont, at 69 years old — maybe those things will catch your attention.
Though the lefty’s career was cut short, either by brawl-induced injury or an ownership angry about the free agency system that Lee helped create, his legacy in baseball looms large. So large that he’s now the subject of a major motion picture, with Josh Duhamel (and his bare butt) playing him in the lead role.
With the movie coming out in theaters and via streaming this week, there wasn’t a better time to sit down with The Spaceman and talk anything from baseball to religion to drug use. Two guys that love to talk, talking about a sport they both love — I think you know how this turns out. (But keep reading anyway.)
Read the full article here: http://www.hardballtimes.com/still-pitching-and-still-fascinating-at-69/
Originally published: August 15, 2016. Last Updated: August 15, 2016.