Bill Lee is an ageless wonder.
Though he retired from Major League Baseball more than 30 years ago, the former Red Sox pitcher known to fans as “Spaceman” continues to pop up each summer on diamonds around the country.
The southpaw tossed 5 2/3 innings and picked up the win in a game for the independent Brockton Rox in 2010, pitched a complete game for the San Rafael Pacifics last summer and made appearances in countless celebrity and charity baseball games.
But Lee’s most impressive feat came Wednesday, when, at age 66, he returned to the Pacifics and played all nine positions in a single game — on Senior Citizens Day, no less. Lee began the game behind the plate before making stops at each outfield position, pitching a scoreless fifth inning and rotating across the infield from left to right over the final four frames.
San Rafael does not appear to be a team scared of mixing up its lineup (Pacifics closer Colin Allen made a highlight-reel catch to end the eighth inning — while playing center field) and this particular stunt is usually pulled at least one or twice in the minors each season, but for it to be accomplished by a man legitimately old enough to be some of his teammates’ grandfather is truly impressive.
Cane tap to Deadspin for the find.
Photo via Facebook/San Rafael Pacifics
