Major League pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee was a lot like his infamous Leephus pitch: unpredictable and loopy. The former Boston Red Sox great was one of baseball's great eccentrics and counterculture icons, and while that led to a number of great moments on and off the field, it also made him persona non grata towards the end of his career. They didn't call him "Spaceman" for nothing, as his extreme liberal politics and willingness to bash Red Sox management made him a perpetual pariah. Now a story on Lee's bizarre career is being told in the new movie, Spaceman, with Josh Duhamel as the lefty hurler.
Written and directed by Brett Rapkin with Ernie Hudson and W. Earl Brown co-starring, the film centers on Lee's life after he's been released by the Montreal Expos in 1982 for staging a one-game protest. Nobody in the league will sign him, but Lee refuses to retire and as of this year he still hasn't. He's traveled the world and played for various minor league and unofficial teams, and even ran for President in 1988. Spoiler alert: he didn't win.
Spaceman hits theaters on August 19th.
