Bill Lee wrote this autobiography in 1984. I read it as a 12 year old then, and then came across it in a used bookstore a couple weeks ago for $2, so I purchased it and read it again. A small part of it may be a little dated but the stories Lee tells still makes this one of the best books ever written by an ex-ballplayer--In my opinion, it's the best. Tales of Lee's days pitching while at USC (with future MLBer's Jim Baar and Tom Seaver) under the legendary Rod Dedeaux, to some of his stops in the minors and then Boston, where he quickly found himself in the conservative manager's dugout because he wore a shirt in Spring Training in 1972 with a big tongue that read "LICK DICK in '72", Lee's exploits are legendary but they're even more memorable as told through his eyes. I found it interesting how many past and future Cub players and managers find their names in this book--Dave Kingman--who appears as a gangly, 20 year old pitcher throwing practice to USC hitters as they prepared for the College World Series--Ron Cey, who Lee describes in hilarious fashion upon first seeing him in college, Mike Garmin, Fergie Jenkins, Lou Piniella, and Gene Michael, to name just a few.
Lee was in the midst of some of the more iconic events in the 70's--namely the legendary 1975 World Series with Cincinnati (he started 2 games) and the 1978 season when Boston pissed the division away to the Yankees on Bucky Dent's home run, a failed season that Lee pretty much puts squarely on the shoulders of Boston's manager Don Zimmer, who probably receives the biggest brunt of criticism in the book. Booze, drugs, women, Lee's extremely frank when it comes to this and much more. A definite recommendation; an easy read and I promise you'll laugh your ass off.
