| Annabelle Lee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1922-01-22)January 22, 1922 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| Died: July 3, 2008(2008-07-03) (aged 86) Costa Mesa, California, U.S. | |
| debut | |
| 1944 | |
| Last appearance | |
| 1950 | |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
Annabelle Lee Harmon (January 22, 1922 – July 3, 2008) was an American femalepitcher who played from1944 through1950 with four teams of theAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m), 120 lb, Lee was aswitch-hitter and threwleft-handed. She was born inLos Angeles, California.[1] She was the aunt ofBill Lee, a formerBoston Red Sox andMontreal Expos pitcher.
Anabelle Lee grew up in a home where baseball was considered of vital importance, as her father was an early 1920s baseball standout for theHollywood Stars of thePacific Coast League, while her nephewBill Lee pitched inMajor League Baseball for theBoston Red Sox andMontreal Expos. According to Bill Lee, his aunt "was the best athlete in the family. She taught me how to pitch."[2] Annabelle Lee entered the baseball record books in 1944 after pitching the firstperfect game in AAGPBL history.[3] Besides this, she hurled ano-hitter the next season and posted a solid career 2.25earned run average during her seven years in the league. Lee is also recognized as one of the few pitchers in the AAGPBL to pitch all three pitching styles adopted in the league's history, fastpitch underhand, sidearm, and overhand. Unfortunately, she never enjoyed a winning season on her way to a 63–96 career record, due to pitching mostly for awful teams with bad defense and a low run support.[1][4][5]
Lee was allocated to the expansionMinneapolis Millerettes in 1944. "I was excited and scared all at the same time; I was thrilled to leave behind my $95-a-month bank clerk's position for an $85-a-week", she recalled in an interview. With the guidance of her father, Lee excelled at sports at a very early age. "To teach me pitching accuracy, he made me throw a baseball through a tire hung from a tree and then at astrike zone painted on an old mattress", she added.
Usingunderhand fastball pitching in her first season, Lee posted an 11–14 record with a 2.43 ERA in 29 appearances, including her perfect game against the Kenosha Comets and the 9th-best ERA in the league. She allowed 96 runs, 39 of them unearned, andstruck out 56 batters. The Millerettes, managed byBubber Jonnard, compiled the worst mark of the league (45–72) and finished last in both halves of the season, 8½ games back of fifth place overall, 26½ out of first.[1][5][6]
According to Lee, "I was ajunkball pitcher, but I had a greatknuckleball". In her debut season, she combined with Wiltze (20–16, 1.88 ERA) for 31 of the 45 victories of the helpless Millerettes. The team received some pretty good performances fromHelen Callaghan, who hit .287 (2nd in the league) andFaye Dancer (.274, 44extra bases), who became the first girl to hit twohome runs in a single game and twogrand slams in a regular season. Playing their home games atNicollet Park, the Millerettes could not compete with the localMinneapolis Millers. In addition, Minneapolis was far from the other five cities in the league, forcing the team to spend most of the season on the road. As a result, the team was replaced by theFort Wayne Daisies in the 1945 season.[7][6]
In 1945 Fort Wayne inherited a few players from Minneapolis, including Helen Callaghan and her older sisterMarge as well asRuth Lessing,Betty Trezza, Dancer, Paire and Lee. WithBill Wambsganss at the helm, the Daisies went 62–47 and finished 4½ games behind the first place Rockford Peaches. Lee finished with a 13–16 mark despite a 1.56 ERA (6th in the league), though low run support remained a crucial issue. Helen Callaghan was one of the few bright spots in the team, winning the batting crown with a .295 average and tying with teammate Dancer for the league-lead in homers (3). Fort Wayne advanced to the playoffs and disposed of the Racine Belles in the first round, three to one games, but was beaten by the Rockford Peaches in the final best-of-seven series, four to one games.[1][6]
Lee continued moving around for a while, as the AAGPBL shifted players as needed to help teams stay afloat. This time she joined the expansionPeoria Redwings in 1946 and was back with a last-place team. Lee went 12–23 with a 2.74 ERA as she led the league in losses. In 1947, pitchingsidearm, she began with Peoria and landed with theGrand Rapids Chicks during the midseason. She posted a combined mark of 9–11 with 29 strikeouts and a 2.24 ERA in 24 games. During the first round of the playoffs, Grand Rapids lost to Rockford in five games.[1][6]
In 1948, the league switched over to overhand pitching and moved the mound back further. Lee returned to Fort Wayne Daisies and went 10–14 with a 2.25 ERA in 27 games. She allowed 78 runs, 56 earned, while striking out 56 batters. The Daisies finished fourth in the Eastern Division (53–72) and advanced to the playoffs, beating theMuskegon Lassies in the first round (3-to-1) and Grand Rapids in the semi-finals (3-to-0), but were defeated by Rockford in the best-of-seven series, four to one games.[1][6]
Lee continued to switch teams on a regular basis. This time she landed back to Peoria in 1949 and again suffered from the horrendous offensive deficiencies of a last-place team, ending with a 5–14 record and a 2.18 ERA that year. She pitched her final season in 1950 and was 3–4 with a 2.51 ERA for Peoria.[1]
When asked about the1992 filmA League of Their Own, a fictionalized account of activities in the AAGPBL created byPenny Marshall, Lee said the film was about 70% accurate.In real life, the managers never entered the women's dressing rooms, she mused.It was a time when women took over men's positions as they went off to war, not only in the field of manufacturing, but on the field of dreams, she concluded.[8]
Lee is part of the AAGPBL permanent display at theBaseball Hall of Fame and Museum atCooperstown, New York, opened in1988, which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual player.