The Spaceman Lands in Raymond

(#6)

In the spring of 2004, former major league pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee spent the day at Joe G. Moss Field in Raymond, telling tall tales and sharing his expertise with anyone who would listen.

Lee is the father of former Eagle player and pitching coach, and JUCO softball coaching legend, Andy Lee. It was a special day for those of us who lived through every pitch of the 1975 World Series when Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games.

He told me the home run Tony Perez hit off his famous “eephus” pitch over Fenway Park’s Green Monster was not his fault. The pitch was “called by Fisk,” Boston catcher and Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk,(Class of 2000). Lee’s eephus was often referred to as the Leephus, space ball, or moon ball.

He had retired Perez twice in the game with “space balls,” but on a 1-0 pitch with the Red Sox up 3-0 in game 7 of the series, he went to the well once too often. The third one became a towering two-run “moon ball” over the Monster in left field.

The Spaceman said he never usually threw that pitch from the stretch. “I usually threw it from the wind-up with a double pump,” he said.

What an awesome day! What a great character of the game!

PS- I didn’t tell him I was a Big Red Machine fan in the 1970’s. Not sure the Spaceman would have cared.