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Chat Reel: Bill Lee

The Spaceman talks about his time on Earth

CNNSI.com caught up with former MLB player Bill Lee on August 3, 2000. Lee, known as "Spaceman" in his playing days, still shows how he got that moniker. A transcript of the chat session follows:

CNNSI Host: Thank you for joining our chat with Bill Lee. Welcome, Bill!
Bill Lee: Thanks for coming!

From Nick Tazza in Lewes, Del.: Bill, settle an argument for us. In the famous brawl at home plate with the Yankees of the late '70s, was it Graig Nettles or Lou Piniella who dislocated your shoulder?
Bill Lee: It was Graig Nettles. Actually, it was the ground -- but Nettles dumped me on the shoulder after Rivers sucker-punched me in the back of the head. It's all on the video.

From Will Anzenberger in Honolulu: Do you still keep in touch with Warren Zevon?
Bill Lee: Not really, but he sure writes a lot of songs about me. "I was in the house when the house burned down." "She broke the vow."

From Tarv in Mandeville, La.: I'm looking to get a copy of your book, but it is out of print. Any suggestions on where to get it? Also, have you ever thought about coming back to baseball as say, a pitching coach?
Bill Lee: No, I don't want to be responsible for all the bad pitching. Major League Baseball doesn't want me back.
For the book, you can get it at Barnes and Noble -- a lot of people have gotten them. It's on the Web, anyway. Go to your local library and steal it.

From in Linda Webster in Monticello, Ark.: In the movie Bull Durham, Kevin Costner has a discussion with his rookie pitcher that is almost word-for-word out of your autobiography -- i.e. fastballs being fascist, for example. Although the words were spoken by a catcher to "his" pitcher, the phrasing throughout that discussion on the mound was eerily similar to the phrasing in your book. Were you part of the team of baseball experts consulted for it?
Bill Lee: That's exactly what Ron Sheldon said when he introduced me when I got the award in L.A. last week. He and I are going to do another movie. That movie was taken from his experiences and my book.

From Ken Houghton in Maplewood, N.J.: Any plans to run for President again? We need a candidate who is sane.
Bill Lee: Yeah, well ... money talks and bulls---- walks and the Republicans have all the money. The Republicans. God, I hate Republicans.

From in Paul Hatton in Westport, Conn.: Was Game 6 in the 1975 World Series the greatest game you were involved in? How do you feel about Pudge Fisk's induction to the Hall of Fame?
Bill Lee: It was a great game, and I wish I'd have taped his speech so I could play it anytime I needed to go to sleep. He can definitely cure insomnia.

From Paul Rugala in Batavia, N.Y.: If you were named commissioner of Major League Baseball, what changes (if any) would you initiate?
Bill Lee: Well, no designated hitter, no Astroturf ... there'd be a total redistribution of wealth and salary caps. I wouldn't let (George) Steinbrenner and (Ted) Turner and all the guys with the TV stations dominate the game. And I'd have to renovate Fenway Park. I wouldn't let them build a new one.

From Mark Ruel in Montreal: What is this thing you enjoyed most about your stay in Montreal?
Bill Lee: Wow! I'd have to say meeting my wife. We went on an 18-year road trip.

From Ken_Montreal: Spaceman... I enjoy your insightful commentary weekly on Mitch Melnick's baseball show in Montreal ... Would you have done anything differently in the Rodney Scott incident when with the Expos?
Bill Lee: Well, no. I thought I handled it pretty well. It's not every day you are made into a martyr.

From John Lehr in Los Angeles, Calif: If you were asked to coach the Russian National Baseball Team in their efforts to qualify for the Olympics, would you accept the job?
Bill Lee: Sure I would. The trouble is the team couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat! It is a very new sport to them. I was the first ballplayer to play in the Soviet Union, Red China and Cuba.

From Robert Booth in Mt. Pleasant, Utah: Bill, how long will it take before Major League Baseball is consumed and emulsified by its bad karma?
Bill Lee: It's definitely on the road ... definitely on that road. I don't know. Baseball will never be consumed, but professional baseball will. There's a distinction there.

From Steve Semorile in San Ramon, Calif.: How much did your high school experience contribute to your success in the major leagues? Did you ever wish you had pitched for a West Coast team such as the Giants or A's?
Bill Lee: High School meant a lot. It's very ironic. I played for the Trojans, and then I went to USC and played for the Trojans. I wanted to play for the Dodgers, but Al Campanis didn't like me. Tried to play for the Giants in '84, but Haller wouldn't let me even play Class AAA. I was basically blackballed.

From redsox37: Bill, what do you think of the photo in SI of you with a shotgun? Are you stalking Nettles?
Bill Lee: (Laughs) That one is in the East Coast [editions]? I am in there with a bat on the West Coast! I have bigger fish to fry with that gun! I want to hunt down the Air Force! They play at 37,000 feet and kill civilians.
There were many shots of me taken with a bat --- and a shotgun ... and one of them was me flippin' the bird to the camera!

From Erik Ferguson in Sharon, Vt.: Hi, Bill. They joked about this in Cooperstown last weekend. In Game 7 in the '75 Series, who called the pitch that Perez hit out in the sixth inning? Was it you, Carlton Fisk or Darrell Johnson? Ever visit Carlton Fisk in New Hampshire?
Bill Lee: No, he doesn't live in New Hampshire anymore. The catcher always calls the pitches, but the pitcher has the right to shake him off. But Perez is a great hitter. But he could never have hit my sinker into the screen. If we turn the double play Perez, doesn't bat.

From Bob: I heard you on NPR's "Car Talk". Did you ever get your car fixed?
Bill Lee: Yeah, I got it fixed -- only to go into a custody battle.

From Lana Horvath in Windsor, Ontario: Hi Bill, I've played softball against you for the last four years in the Joint Forces All Stars vs. the Greatest Sports Legends ever. I'm the only female on our team -- remember me? Do you enjoy traveling and playing for these charity events? It's a lot of fun playing against you guys. Hope to see you again this year.
Bill Lee: Ha! I know her! We will be there and I can't wait for her to hit another line drive to center so I can catch it behind my back. That's what I'm doing right now in Prince George.

From UMass: Hello, Bill. Who do you think is more dominant at present: Randy Johnson or Pedro Martinez? Or is it someone else?
Bill Lee: That's like saying what's more dominant to get hit with, a 44-Magnum or a 38-police special? One's a six-month sickness, the other is sudden death. Take your pick.

From Benoit Pigeon in Laval, Quebec: What is your take on the possibility of Montreal losing the Expos?
Bill Lee: Not good. Expansion started in Montreal. They can never take away what has been given freely.

From UMass: Could you tell us a little more about the trips to Cuba that you make?
Bill Lee: I take American ball clubs that want to go down and play Cuban all-star teams, but you have to leave your equipment behind for the teams you play against. It costs about 1/3 of a fantasy camp and you have three times as much fun. We run through Canada mostly. Montreal-Havana, $350 round trip Canadian dollars. You get picked up by a bus loaded with beer and rum, and you just head out into the island and there is a game to be found everywhere we go. Feel free to bring everything you ever wanted to throw away and just give it to the Cubans. I gave a boy his first pair of shoes and you don't know how happy that will make you feel. A little old lady -- I gave her a dress -- she asked for a dress and I made a point of going back a year later and giving her a dress. Why are we so afraid of people who have so little?

From Pete: Do the Red Sox ever invite you to participate in their pre-Spring Training camp for rich wannabes?
Bill Lee: No. I cost the Red Sox $382 million dollars in taxpayer revenue by trying to save Fenway Park. They had an election for their Hall of Fame, and they elected Reggie Smith, who sucker-punched me in the clubhouse, and was traded the next day.
During an interview a writer said, "But Bill, you won 51 games in three years, you should be in there!"
They said, "When will you be in the Hall?"
I said, "Only when I am dead, and I want to go in face down so they can kiss my ass."
But the Red Sox and I don't get along.

From Ken_Montreal: Spaceman: who was the most challenging hitter you faced?
Bill Lee: Tony Oliva -- he's a Cuban.

From Jack McDonald in Normal, Ill.: It seems as though you and Jim Bouton both blacklisted yourselves by merely being inquisitive and honest. Why do you think it is that this country is so determined not to embrace athletes whose opinions encompass more than clichés and statistics?
Bill Lee: Well, what do you expect from a "North-Paw" world? They always tell you to ask questions but when the powers that be don't know the answers, they hate it when you point that out to them.
Thomas Malthus was wrong. He was an economist. He said that goods grow arithmetically and people grow geometrically; therefore, there is not enough to go around. And all economic systems are based on that postulate. Therefore, if he is wrong, we are wrong. And I believe Bucky Fuller proved him wrong.

From Hi: Bill, what's your favorite non-sports movie?
Bill Lee: My favorite non-sports movie? A good one. Lawrence of Arabia! That's right up there. Out of Africa, Sleepless in Seattle and The Matrix.

From UMass: Do you think the "Curse of the Bambino" will ever be lifted or are Sox fans doomed to wait forever?
Bill Lee: I think infinity is a very long time. But until they dig the body of Babe Ruth up and apologize to him, I wouldn't bet against it.

From Ken_Montreal: Spaceman: what do you think Gary Carter's chances are of being elected to Cooperstown next year?
Bill Lee: I don't think he will go against Paul Molitor and some others. I think he is available next year. You gotta pick the years to go in, but Carter is as good as Fisk. I threw against the three greats. I faced Bob Boone, Gary Carter, and Fisk ... not necessarily in that order.

CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have today with Bill. Thanks for being with us.
Bill Lee: My pleasure. Watch out, pilots in Atlanta. ... I am on the loose!

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