Who doesn't love a good Bill Lee story? Despite his major-league career ending back in 1982, Lee has continued to pitch elsewhere, and last Thursday night became the oldest man to ever win a professional baseball game, at the age of 65. Lee, of course, was breaking a record he had set himself two years earlier.
The 65-year-old southpaw threw a complete-game for the San Rafael Pacifics of the North American League. Lee retired the first 10 batters he saw before giving up a single to Maui Na Koa Ikaika's Kalaika Kahoohalahala. Lee went down 3-0 at one point, and former Dodger outfielder and current Pacifics manager Mike Marshall went to take him out. Lee remained in the game, though, going the distance for the Pacifics' first complete-game of the year, and took home a historic W in the process.
Lee didn't strike out a batter, but 69 of his 94 pitches (73 percent) of his pitches went for strikes. He also helped his own cause, singling in a run during one of his trips to the plate. Cue the chants to get this guy instead of Aaron Cook in 2013.
In a related story, Paul Flannery, who writes about the Celtics for WEEI.com, wrote a profile of Lee for The Classical back in November that I just want to get all effusive about, but in the interest of saving you time so you can read it, will just tell you to read it instead.