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the clubhouse before going up to McHale’s inner sanctum. The only player there was John Milner. Milner was a psychic. Had to be. He had spent most of his career with the Mets, Pirates, and Expos as a lefthand hitting outfielder—first baseman, playing against right-handers or sitting on the bench in a state of advanced readiness. Life as a platooned player breeds an ability to perceive events long before they actually happen. So, on the morning of May 9, 1982, as we both sat in that clubhouse, and he handed me a fried egg sandwich, I’m sure we both knew that he was giving me something more than just an early snack. He was giving the condemned man his final meal. I thanked him, ate it, and made my way to the door, pausing only to grab a bagel. Slobbering it with peanut butter and cream cheese, I thought to myself, what a time for us to run out of spareribs.

I went directly to McHale’s office and, seeing no secretary around, decided to let myself in. I made myself comfortable on his floor and quickly reached a meditative state that was beyond transcendental. This wasn’t the first time I had crossed swords with management; I was always matching wits with authority. Pondering over my past and present hassles, I began to wonder why my life had taken the direction it had. What cosmic forces had led me to this precise moment that saw me, once again, dancing on the rim of the volcano? The answers started to come to me as my life flashed before my eyes. I think it all started when I was arrested as a pyromaniac.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

BILL LEE is a pitcher. From 1969 to 1982 he compiled a laudable. 569 winning percentage while starring in the major leagues for the Boston Red Sox and the Montreal Expos. In 1984 he collaborated with Richard Lally to write the best-selling autobiography The Wrong Stuff, and he wrote The Little Red (Sox) Book with Jim Prime in 2002. Today, Bill continues to play baseball in countries all over the world while appearing regularly as a commentator on television and radio in the United States and Canada. He lives in Craftsbury, Vermont.

RICHARD LALLY has written nineteen books. He has collaborated with celebrity authors to produce three international bestsellers, including The Wrong Stuff. In 2002, Princeton University Library added Mr. Lally’s critically acclaimed Bombers to its prestigious Dixon Collection, a collection of books “illustrative of contemporary life and thought.” He lives in New York City.

Other Books by the Authors

BY BILL LEE AND RICHARD LALLY

The Wrong Stuff

BY BILL LEE

The Little Red (Sox) Book

BY RICHARD LALLY

Bombers

Baseball for Dummies (with Joe Morgan)

Long Balls, No Strikes (with Joe Morgan)

Copyright © 2005 by Bill Lee and Richard Lally

Excerpt from The Wrong Stuff copyright © 1984 by Bill Lee and Richard Lally

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. www.crownpublishing.com

Three Rivers Press and the Tugboat design are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lee, Bill, 1946–

Have glove, will travel: adventures of a baseball vagabond /

Bill “Spaceman” Lee and Richard Lally.—1st ed.

Includes index.

1. Lee, Bill, 1946– 2. Pitchers (Baseball)—United States—Biography.

I. Lally, Dick. II. Title.

GV865.L36A34 2005

796.357’092—dc22 2004004077

www.randomhouse.com

eISBN: 978-0-307-42084-8

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