Meant originally as an insult, Lee married the nickname during his career (he detests it since retirement) and worked a pun on it in his autobiography (The Wrong Stuff). He was no where near a whacky as his detractors liked to portray him, but was a smart, competitive and contentious player. In baseball, he said "you're supposed to sit on the bench, spit and nod at stupid things."

I can't say much about his attitude except for what I've seen on tape, (he comments on Ken Burns documentary on baseball). And his view on how to pitch a perfect game.