A former Major League Baseball player is running for governor in Vermont as a member of the Liberty Union party, which bills itself as nonviolent and socialist.

Bill "Spaceman" Lee says voters will "need umbrellas" if he's elected because "it's going to be raining dollars," referring to money trickling down from the wealthy.

"The problem with Americans is their fist is like this (closed), and you got to open your hands. Republicans are pterodactyls, they have little short arms that never get to their front pockets," said Lee in an interview with Vermont's WCAX.

Lee pitched for the Boston Red Sox from 1969 to 1978. He was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 2008.

Lee says he's a "pragmatic, conservative, forward thinker." He supports legalizing marijuana, a single-payer health care system and paid family leave.

Four other candidates — including a Google executive — are also running.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders first ran for office in Vermont — unsuccessfully — as a Liberty Union candidate.

Watch this short interview with Bill Lee from 1978: