High and Outside
is a raucous, rousing, iconoclastic journey
through the baseball life of Bill "Spaceman"
Lee. One of the most colorful and controversial
figures to play the game, Bill's rebellious
spirit, fun-loving attitude, spirit-of-the-60s
philosophy endeared him to fans but pitted
him squarely in opposition to the corporate
baseball establishment. And Bill did not
back down.
Rumor had it that Bill was blackballed from baseball, a conspiracy that has never
been uncovered. How could the fun loving "Spaceman" be kicked out of baseball?
Why? Too controversial? Or simply washed up? 'High & Outside' looks for
answers.
Anything but conventional, Bill was the first professional athlete to admit using
marijuana; he took sides on everything from artificial turf to segregation in
schools. A "baseball utopian" Bill was actively involved in the early days of
the baseball players union. He staged one-man walkouts but opposed the 1981 strike.
Lee was a voice of reason and sanity in a game corrupted by 'planet-polluting
owners' and the corporate mindset. He was consistently unpredictable, 'a free
man, and a free-radical, not owned by any corporation, yet becoming increasingly
difficult to handle for owners and management.
'High and Outside' reveals Bill's enigmatic personality and the unlikely story
of Bill's banishment from the game. In the tradition of 'Bang the Drum Slowly',
and 'Fear Strikes Out', 'High and Outside' will make you think, especially make
you laugh, and remind you that there is more to baseball than steroids, salaries,
and the bottom line.
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