Former Red Sox Star Bill Lee Collapsed Warming Up for Savannah Bananas

The 75-year-old was able to walk off the field with some assistance.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Former Red Sox star Bill Lee collapsed in the bullpen while warming up for a Savannah Bananas exhibition game Friday night, but the 75-year-old pitcher walked off the field with assistance.

“He was able to leave the stadium with medical attention and was taken to a local hospital,” team president Jared Orton said in an email to The Associated Press.

Lee, a member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame and fondly nicknamed “Spaceman,” was in the right-field bullpen when the episode occurred.

Lee has pitched for the Bananas, a popular club known for its bright yellow uniforms and entertaining antics on and off the field. There is another version of the Bananas in the Coastal Plain League, a college summer league.

In 14 seasons with Boston and Montreal, Lee went 119–90. An All-Star in 1973, the left-hander helped pitch the Red Sox into the 1975 World Series and started Game 7 against Cincinnati. Lee exited in the seventh inning and Boston later lost to Cincinnati 4–3.