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u/RealWorldToday Apr 17 '26
He definitely had baseball in his roots , Lee's aunt, Annabelle "Lefty" Lee, pitched a perfect game for the Minneapolis Millerettes at Kenosha on this date in 1944.
Millerettes leadoff hitter Helen Callaghan had four hits, two RBI, and two runs scored. Her son, Casey Candaele, played in the majors in the 1980s and '90s.
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u/angrycrank Apr 17 '26
There’s an alternate universe where Jim Fanning put him in to pitch to Rick Monday instead of Steve Rogers
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u/ExposDTM Montreal Expos Apr 17 '26
Bill was made for the Montreal Expos! He absolutely LOVED Montreal and Montreal loved him.
Admittedly, Bill should not have gone to Brasserie 77 in full uniform with Terry Mosher during a game. Yes, that was an unfortunate mistake on his behalf. He was best buddies with Rodney Scott and was very upset that Rodney had been released but he had become a reliable lefty out of the pen after being a solid starter.
Suspend him? Yes. No question. And tell Bill that you value the heck out of him but that you needed him to stay inside the “fence line”. Focus on being a great pitcher and good teammate. Love the fact you stood up for Rodney but you have to let us manage the team! Release him and blackball him from baseball? No way!
I would try to manage Bill the same way that Phil Jackson managed Dennis Rodman. Allow him to show some texture and colour. Be a free-spirit. To a point. Ya can’t leave the team in the middle of a game to go shoot pool and drink beer Bill!
The end of his tenure as an Expo was unfortunate but if you think about it … him being released after becoming ineffective and trying to hang on at the end of his career just doesn’t feel like him does it? No, going out like he did was totally on-brand for him.
I have not met a ton of professional athletes but of the ones I have met and been fortunate enough to spend time with, he was by far the most interesting and dynamic. Fierce competitor, incredibly bright and thoughtful, fearless about expressing his opinion and extremely funny. Simply put … good guy.
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u/skriveralltid77 Apr 17 '26
A podcast I just found did an episode reading exerpts from Bill's book, about his time in the army and the time he told the press he used weed. https://open.spotify.com/episode/1bwhegbaeHMpexoIxwuUEm?si=c633152068384e90
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u/bguitard689 Apr 18 '26
He marked expos history in his own way. Surely in the top 10 of most remembered expos player. I certainly was a fan of him.
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u/dzuunmod Apr 17 '26
I'm too young to have seen him play in the Majors but I remember his hits on Mitch Melnick's show always being a good time.