Red Sox icon Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee collapses at Savannah Bananas game originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Bill “Spaceman” Lee is still playing baseball at age 75, but the former Boston Red Sox pitcher had a health scare Friday night in Georgia.
Lee collapsed in the bullpen while warming up to pitch in an exhibition game with the Savannah Bananas, a collegiate summer league team that entertains fans with a Harlem Globetrotters-esque style of play.
Lee walked off the field with assistance and was taken to a local hospital for treatment, team president Jared Orton told The Associated Press.
The Red Sox Hall of Famer, who was back with the Bananas after joining the team for a series of exhibition games this spring, collapsed in the right-field bullpen during the fourth inning.
“(Lee) threw a perfect changeup for a strike. I threw the ball back to him,” Bananas teammate Mat Wolf told the Savannah Morning News. “He literally went down, just out of nowhere; right when he caught it, he went straight backwards.”
There’s no further update on Lee’s condition, but Bananas owner Jesse Cole told ESPN in a postgame interview that Lee was responsive as he exited the field.
Lee spent 10 of his 14 major league seasons with the Red Sox, compiling a 94-68 record in Boston with a 3.62 ERA over nearly 2,000 innings. The colorful left-hander was a popular player in Boston, earning the nickname “Spaceman” thanks in part to his free-spirited nature.
He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2008.