scorecardresearch Skip to main content
red sox

Former Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee, 75, collapses at amateur game before walking off field

Bill Lee went 94-68 with a 3.64 ERA for the Red Sox from 1969-78, and was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 2008.frank o brien

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Former Boston Red Sox star Bill Lee collapsed in the bullpen while warming up for the Savannah Bananas amateur team Friday night, but the 75-year-old pitcher walked off the field with assistance.

“He was able to leave the stadium with medical attention and was taken to a local hospital,” team president Jared Orton said in an email to The Associated Press.

Lee, a member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame and fondly nicknamed “Spaceman," was in the right-field bullpen when the episode occurred.

Lee has pitched for the Bananas, who play in the Coastal Plain League, a collegiate summer league. The club is known for its bright yellow uniforms and entertaining antics on and off the field.

Advertisement



In 14 seasons with Boston and Montreal, Lee went 119-90. An All-Star in 1973, the lefthander helped pitch the Red Sox into the 1975 World Series and started Game 7 against Cincinnati. Lee exited in the seventh inning and Boston later lost to Cincinnati, 4-3.