Boston — One of the Red Sox’s most immortal icons, Bill “Spaceman” Lee, shocked the baseball community when he announced that his health was seriously deteriorating after doctors discovered a dangerous blockage in his arteries. But true to the indomitable spirit that has carried him through every challenge on the field, Lee declared that he will not give up — the “Spaceman” heart is still ready to fight, ready to return to baseball.
At age 77, Lee — who spent 14 seasons at Fenway in MLB, was an icon of freestyle and rebellious spirit — has suffered a series of serious medical incidents. He once collapsed during a performance with the exhibition team, then was shocked and resuscitated, the “net” of life seemed fragile.
It didn’t stop there: after many medical centers “gave up” on his case, Lee finally found a lifeline at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center — where an interventional cardiologist opened the blocked artery and placed a stent, giving the Boston legend a chance at life — and even a chance to return to the field.
During the successful surgery in late 2023, Lee’s doctor shared: “I told him: keep moving, keep playing if you still have passion.” And Lee — who always prided himself on his life motto — replied: “I’ve fallen countless times, but the only rule I have in life is: if you fall, get up.”
The first fall in August 2022 — while Lee was warming up for an exhibition match — almost took his life. According to witnesses, “he stopped breathing” before being given timely emergency care.
Instead of retreating, Lee faced each shock: a pacemaker, multiple cardiac resuscitations, and finally the discovery of a life-threatening “blockage.”
But after a successful surgery at Dartmouth Hitchcock, all hope that seemed lost suddenly came back with a vengeance. Doctors not only gave him a chance to live — but also encouraged him to continue playing. For Lee, it was not a simple invitation, but a wake-up call to a heart he had long forgotten.
And he did what many considered unthinkable — at nearly 80 years old, Bill “Spaceman” Lee returned to pitch for the exhibition team, swinging his signature “eephus pitch” just as he had in his prime.
Lee did not shy away from questions about death, about fear, about the moments when each heartbeat stopped — he repeated his motto: “If you slide, get up.”
For him, every pitch, every step on the mound, was more than just baseball — it was a testament to his will, his determination, to a man who refused to give in to fate.
For Red Sox fans — and the baseball community at large — Bill Lee’s story is a powerful reminder that legends exist not just in records, pitches, or hits — but in spirit, in character, in the ability to overcome darkness — to come back, even to laugh, to pitch, to give joy.
Amid so much bad news about health, age, and change, Lee is becoming a living symbol of “never give up.” He’s not just back on the field — he’s back to the light, to hope, to the spirit of a glorious era.
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