Posted by Chaz Scoggins, Sun Staff

Bill Lee, ever the maverick, must be mellowing in his old age.

After a preview of a documentary on his life last fall, Lee all but said he’d refuse induction into the Red Sox Hall of Fame, were he ever to be selected. Something about the Red Sox kissing his posterior, if I remember correctly. Lee, who is third on the all-time Red Sox list in victories by a lefthander with 94, felt he should have been inducted long ago.

But when the seventh class of Red Sox Hall of Famers was announced this week, Lee was on the list. I’m sure the Red Sox would not have included him without contacting him first, so Lee must have agreed to be inducted. Of course, what he might say about the Red Sox at the induction ceremonies next Nov. 7 is something else entirely. The irreverent Lee is nothing if not unpredictable. But I hope that, for once in his wild, wild life, Lee takes the high road in his speech.

For the first time the Red Sox are inducting a scout into their Hall of Fame. George Digby scouted for the Red Sox for 50 years from 1944-94 and discovered five-time batting king and Hall of Famer Wade Boggs and lifetime .303 hitter Mike Greenwell, among others. This recognition for scouts is long overdue. For years writers have been lobbying the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown to create a wing for scouts, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. At least the Red Sox are correcting this oversight.

Other former Sox players being inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame are Greenwell, who has not returned to Fenway since playing his last game for the Red Sox in 1996; good-hitting pitcher Wes Ferrell (1934-37), who had a pair of 20-win seasons for the team; shortstop Everett Scott (1914-21), who played for three World Series champs and once held the record for consecutive games played with 1,307; Mo Vaughn, the AL’s MVP in 1995; and pitcher Frank Sullivan (1953-60), who was a two-time All-Star.

In addition to Digby, long-time farm director Ed Kenney, Sr. is also being inducted in the non-playing category. Kenney was a Red Sox executive for 40 years, and in 1988 the Red Sox won a division title with a lineup that was entirely groomed in their farm system, plus three of their starting pitchers. Ted Williams’ home run in his final major-league at-bat is being enshrined as a Most Memorable Moment.

I’ve known Lee, Greenwell, and Vaughn for years. I’m looking forward most to meeting Sullivan, who has a terrific sense of humor and should be a hilarious interview. Among Sullivan’s bon mots:

After the Red Sox plane landed at Logan Airport following a miserable road trip, Sullivan cracked: “Scatter as soon as you get off the plane, men, so they don’t get us all with one burst.”
When Sullivan pitched on Opening Day in 1960 and manager Billy Jurges read out the starting lineup, Sullivan quipped: “Is that the best you can do for me?”