09:49 AM EDT on Tuesday, July 13, 2004

BY SHALISE MANZA YOUNG
Journal Sports Writer

Journal photo / Glenn Osmundson Former Red Sox pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee is still way out there by all accounts, but his arm still has enough life in it to throw batting practice to the celebrities last night.

PAWTUCKET -- In his day, Bill Lee was known for his colorful quotes and eccentric behavior.

He is, after all, the Spaceman.

Last night, the Spaceman was a more little out there, claiming he had "a little bit of Ted Williams' DNA" with him as he won the Celebrity Home Run Challenge -- on points -- in the first event on this week's Triple-A All-Star Game calendar.

Lee wasn't carrying a lock of the Splendid Splinter's hair or some moldy, 45-year-old, sweat-stained towel. He wasn't even carrying some old chewing gum, which wouldn't be odd given that we're talking about Lee.

Nope. According to Lee, his bat was crafted from a tree in Florida near one of Williams' favorite fishing spots.

Of course, for all we know, the bat was crafted last week from a tree in Pennsylvania that only a family of squirrels frequented, but where's the fun in that?

Lee's mystical bat carried him to the "win" last night, mostly because the competition was, shall we say, weak.

Even Sam Horn, who hit 30 homers with the PawSox in 1987, brought up to bat last because of the expected power surge he could add, hit only one home run in his seven swings, a shot off the Taco Bell sign in right field. It was good for only four points.

For the celebrity challenge, each hitter got seven swings -- a hit that went over a line about 200 feet from home plate was worth one point, while a homer got four.

Darren Flutie, brother of San Diego Chargers quarterback Doug, got things started on a positive note, getting four points.

Jim Baron wasn't quite so successful. The URI basketball coach showed why his baseball days ended in the Jackie Robinson youth league in Brooklyn, whiffing three times and not getting a ball out of the infield.

Baron may have been the first to suffer at-bat embarrasment, but he certainly was not the last.

Doug Flutie, Woonsocket native and NHL goalie Brian Boucher, Red Sox radio voice Joe Castiglione, Mount St. Charles grad and Chicago Blackhawk Bryan Berard, Survivor: Africa winner Ethan Zohn and boxing champ Peter Manfredo Jr. suffered a similar fate to Baron's.

Former Providence College and current Virginia basketball coach Pete Gillen, who was given tepid applause after his initial introduction, heard a few boos when it was his turn to bat. Or miss badly, as it were. Gillen missed five times.

Peter Farrelly sent a ringer to the plate for him, Tacoma infielder Bucky Jacobsen, who later participated in the Triple-A home-run contest. Jacobsen, a hulking 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, regained the crowd's interest with two moon shots over the left-field billboards. Unfortunately for Farrelly, Jacobsen's points didn't help his cause; the moviemaker recorded a goose egg.

Broadcaster Sean McDonough provided some comic relief when Buffalo Sabres and former Boston Bruins defenseman Jeff Jillson got his third point on his eighth swing. McDonough looked up to the McCoy press box, held up eight fingers, and threw down his cap in protest.

By virtue of his 12 points in the first round -- two homers to right field and four hits to deep right -- Lee moved into the finals with Dave Koza, known to longtime PawSox fans as the hero of The Longest Game.

It was Koza who delivered the game-winning RBI in the 33-inning marathon that put Pawtucket on the map, driving in Marty Barrett.

Koza hit a home run in his last at-bat, to the left-center berm, and ended with eight points.

In the finals, the Spaceman got three points, while Koza managed only one. A hug from Dom DiMaggio and photos with DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky came with the silver trophy Lee won for his efforts.