Robert Dean Lee (November 26, 1937 – March 25, 2020) was an American closer and

spot starter S sabermetrics :Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. The term was coined by Bill James, an ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played from 1964 through 1968 for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, Los Angeles/California Angels, and the Cincinnati Reds. Listed at , , Lee batted and threw right handed. He was nicknamed ″Moose″, ″Horse″ and ″Big Bob″. Born in Ottumwa, Iowa on November 26, 1937, Lee graduated from

Bellflower High School Bellflower High School is a six-year public high school located in Bellflower, California, as part of the Bellflower Unified School District (BUSD). Demographics and class size As of 2009, Bellflower had 136 regular educations teachers and 123 c ...

Bellflower, California Bellflower is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1906 and incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 79,190, up ...

. He was originally signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates organization as an amateur free agent in 1956 and also pitched eight years in the

Minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

. Lee entered the majors in 1964 with the Angels, pitching one inning of scoreless relief with two strikeouts in a 6–4 loss to the Washington Senators at D.C. Stadium. He finished his rookie season with a 6–5 record and a 1.51

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 64 games, setting a personal record with 111 strikeouts. In 1965 he went 9–7 with a 1.92 ERA in 69 games, following with a 5–4 record and a 2.74 ERA in 61 appearances in the 1966 season. During this period he amassed 58 saves, to rank among the top 10

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

relievers in saves, pitching appearances (194) and

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is th ...

(128). In addition, Lee posted a franchise record with 21 scoreless innings pitched between 1964 and 1965, which stood for 48 years until

Jered Weaver Jered David Weaver (born October 4, 1982) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres. Weaver was drafted in the first round (12th overal ...

set a new mark in July 2013. Lee also was selected to the 1965 American League All Star Team, even though he did not pitch in the game held at

Metropolitan Stadium Metropolitan Stadium (often referred to as "the Met", "Met Stadium", or now "the Old Met" to distinguish from the Metrodome) was an outdoor sports stadium in the north central United States, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneap ...

. Before the 1967 season, he was sent to the Dodgers in the same transaction that brought Nick Willhite to California. He pitched in only four games for Los Angeles before being purchased by Cincinnati in the midseason. Nevertheless, Lee never matched the success of his first three seasons, as he went 3–3 with a 4.44 ERA in 27 games for the Reds the rest of the year. He followed with a 2–4 record and a 5.15 ERA in 44 games in 1968, during what turned out to be his Major League's final season. In between, Lee had a 59–58 record and a 3.83 ERA over parts of eight minor league seasons spanning 1956–1963. He also pitched for the

Tiburones de La Guaira The Tiburones de La Guaira ( en, La Guaira Sharks) are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in the city of La Guaira, they play their home games in Estadio Fórum La Guaira and have won seven national champions ...

and

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

clubs of the

Venezuelan Winter League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

between 1963 and 1969. In 2011 the Angels had a former player throw out the ceremonial first pitch of each of the team's 81 home games. Lee threw out the first pitch of the April 10, 2011 game. Lee died on March 25, 2020, at his home in

Lake Havasu City, Arizona Lake Havasu City (, ) is a city in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,144, up from 52,527 in 2010. It is served by Lake Havasu City Airport. History The community first started as a ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Bob 1937 births 2020 deaths American League All-Stars Asheville Tourists players Baseball players from Iowa Batavia Pirates players Billings Mustangs players California Angels players Cincinnati Reds players Columbus Jets players Dallas Rangers players Douglas Copper Kings players Dubuque Packers players Grand Forks Chiefs players Las Vegas Wranglers (baseball) players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Los Angeles Angels players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Los Angeles County, California People from Ottumwa, Iowa San Jose JoSox players San Jose Pirates players Savannah Pirates players Tiburones de La Guaira players