Baseball has always been an interesting sport, and even though the recent taint of steroids has pushed it to the back of many minds (including my own), there will always be those who play the game for what it is: a great game to play.

Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey follows the career and recent adventures of Bill “Spaceman” Lee, a left-hander who pitched for the Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos from 1969 to 1978. Directed by Brett Rapkin and produced by Rapkin and Josh Dixon, two first-timers in full-length documentary films, Spaceman idealizes and highlights Lee’s passion for life and baseball. The man embodies a ‘60s and early ‘70s era rebel in such a way that you could put his face on a t-shirt.

The film flows well, using a mix of Major League footage and press interviews with Lee to flesh out the feeling of the 1970s baseball scene. Unique interviews with former teammates (Fred Lynn, Luis Tiant) and staff (Rod Dedeaux, Dick Williams) are featured along with extra interviews in the special features. The directors also highlight Cuban Baseball though they all but cut out Lee’s philanthropic efforts there.

Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey is worth picking up for a fan of people doing something for all the right reasons or any baseball fan interested in a story about a purer form of the sport.

Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey plays with The Boys Who Came to Play on Thursday, June 11. The show starts at 7 p.m. and will be introduced by Paul Edmonds, the voice of the Goldeyes.

Published in Volume 63, Number 27 of The Uniter (May 20, 2009)