The Spaceman, Manny being Manny and the dancing Papelbon

The recent induction of "The Spaceman" Bill Lee to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame brought on a flood of memories, which, in addition to putting a smile on my face, brought to mind a rather cogent fact of Red Sox Nation life: We have always LOVED our characters; the stranger the better, it would seem, and Lee would have to rank up there among the strangest.

There were characters like Mo Vaughn, who looked like the side of a large barn, but could scoop up balls around first base like he was a skinny teenager. And he used to wear these enormous necklaces made out of some animal's teeth that were pretty frightening.

And outfielder, Jimmy Piersall (the subject of the film, "Fear Strikes Out"), who played pretty steadily between 1952 and 1958, and was known, thanks to a bipolar disorder, to do very odd things, like climb foul poles, wear a wig, shoot water pistols, and once, in 1952, got into a fistfight with Billy Martin, when he was a Yankee infielder.

But back to the Spaceman. His induction into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame has more to do with his on-field achievements, which were considerable. He holds the club record for most games pitched by a left-hander (321) and the third-highest win total for a left-hander (94). He started his career one day after my 20th birthday in 1969. Over a 13-year career, 10 of it with the Red Sox, he went 119-90 with a 3.92 ERA and 713 strikeouts. He went 94-68 with the Sox with a 3.64 ERA (321 games/167 starts). He recorded 17 wins in three consecutive seasons ('73-'75).

He was known, arguably better, for his antics; like throwing an "eephus" ball (dubbed, at the time, as a "Leephus ball") that arced over the plate like someone trying to shoot a basketball from the free throw line. Tony Perez swung and missed a couple of these during Game Six of the 1975 World Series, but then got hold of one and put it over the Green Monster, in what turned out to be a 4-3 loss for the Sox.

He was quite outspoken, which, for better or worse, made him something of a media 'darling.' His views on Maoist China, population control, Greenpeace, school busing, and anything else that crossed his mind were legend in the Boston media. He jumped all over an umpire in the '75 Series for a bad call, threatening to bite off his ear and encouraging people to write in and demand that the game be replayed. He gleefully admitted to the use of weed, claiming it made him immune to bus fumes on his jog to work every day.

He and coach Don Zimmer did not see eye to eye AT ALL, which led to something of a public feud, with Lee and a few cronies (Ferguson Jenkins and Bernie Carbo among them) being designated "The Buffalo Heads" and Zimmer being referred to as "The Designated Gerbil"  Despite a 12-5 record against the Yankees, Zimmer refused to start him for a late season game against the Yanks in 1978; the year they were ahead of the Yanks by 14 games in mid-July and ended up losing by a single game, thanks to Bucky-bleeping-Dent.

Lee will join players Mike Greenwell, the aforementioned Mo Vaughn, right-handed pitchers Frank Sullivan and Everett Scott and non-players George Digby (scout) and Edward Kenny, Sr. (executive) for the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame induction dinner at the Marriott Copley after the World Series this year. This is the 7th class of inductees to the Red Sox Hall of Fame, founded in 1995 and voted on every other year since 2000 by Red Sox executives, broadcasters, members of the media and representatives of the New England Sports Museum and BoSox Club. The Hall now features 52 inductees and 7 Memorable Moment awards (the latest of these moments to be inducted into the Hall was Ted Williams' home run in his final major league at bat against the Orioles on Sept. 28, 1960)

As those 'in the know' know, the current Sox roster bears its own set of characters; the dancing Papelbon, Manny being Manny, and the strange stance Coco Crisp. Maybe it's something in the water.