Editing Bill Lee (left-handed pitcher) (section)

==Reputation and controversy==
Lee's personality earned him popularity as well as the nickname "Spaceman", given to him by former Red Sox infielder [[John Kennedy (third baseman)|John Kennedy]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Day |first1=Steve |title=Bill 'Spaceman' Lee entertains Red Sox Nation with stories of baseball years |url=https://www.villages-news.com/2017/01/20/bill-spaceman-lee-entertains-red-sox-nation-stories-baseball-years/ |website=villages-news.com |access-date=7 August 2019}}</ref> His outspoken manner and unfiltered comments were frequently recorded in the press. Lee spoke in defense of [[Maoism|Maoist]] China, population control, [[Greenpeace]],<ref name=jacobin /> and [[Boston desegregation busing crisis|school busing in Boston]],<ref name=jacobin /> among other things. Concerning the last of those issues, he defended [[W. Arthur Garrity Jr.]] by stating that he was "the only guy in this town with any guts."<ref name="ckirkpatrick"/> He berated an umpire for a controversial call in the 1975 World Series, threatening to bite off his ear and encouraging the American people to write letters demanding the game be replayed.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} When asked about his views on mandatory drug testing, Lee quipped: "I've tried just about all of them, but I wouldn't want to make it mandatory".<ref name=jacobin /> In his 1984 book ''The Wrong Stuff'', he claimed his [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]] use made him impervious to bus fumes while jogging to work at Fenway Park.<ref>Lee, Bill, and Dick Lally (1984). ''The Wrong Stuff''. New York: Viking Press. {{ISBN|0-670-76724-7}}.</ref> Much of the material in this book is, however, tongue-in-cheek.

His propensity to criticize management led to his being dropped{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} from both the Red Sox and the Expos, and the end of his professional career by 1982.