Cliff Lee

Perhaps it was because of his low-key, private nature, or that he was traded twice and played for four teams, or that injury ended his career rather abruptly. Whatever the reason, Cliff Lee’s dominance during his peak seasons is often overlooked when discussing great major-league pitchers from his era. Using a wide variety of pitches – two-seam fastball, four-seam fastball, curveball, slider, and cutter – from 2008 through 2013 he ranked first in shutouts (12), second in ERA (2.89), fifth in innings pitched (1,333 2/3), sixth in wins (85), and sixth in strikeouts (1203). All while walking just 1.33 batters per nine innings, an MLB-best.1

Clifton Phifer “Cliff” Lee was born on August 30, 1978, in Benton, Arkansas, to Steve and Sharon Lee. He was named after his maternal grandfather, and his middle name is his mother’s maiden name.2 Steve was a local firefighter for 30 years and a long-time member of the Benton City Council.3 Cliff was the middle of three children; he had an older brother and a younger sister.

The 6-foot-3, left-handed Lee came by his athletic ability naturally; both of his parents were great athletes. Steve was a talented wide receiver for the Benton High School football team in the 1970s, while Sharon was an intense pitcher in the local church softball league despite a birth defect that left her with just one hand.4

Despite being a star on the Benton Junior High football team, when Lee reached high school, he concentrated on baseball.5 He knew that he wanted to be a professional pitcher. When his high school teacher Shari Williams once gave her class a “how-to” speech assignment, Lee’s oral presentation was about how to pitch a baseball.6

Lee was well-liked in high school but occasionally got into trouble. “I was young and dumb,” he said in 2006. “It’s not like I was completely stupid, selling drugs or anything. When I figured out I was going to be pretty good at baseball, I figured I’d better get my act together and make something of myself.7

Throughout his playing career Lee maintained a strong connection to his hometown. Benton remained his offseason home early in his playing career. He spent time hunting and fishing in the area and worked out with the high school team before leaving for spring training. In 2009 he bought rings for the Benton High School baseball team after they won their first state baseball championship.8 Later he moved to nearby Little Rock, where he still lives.

Like many young pitchers, Lee threw hard but struggled with control. “He had a hard time throwing strikes,” remembered his high school coach, Mark Balisterri, who took over the Benton program when Lee was a sophomore. “He’d throw a one-hitter but have 10 walks. He was nerve-wracking. He’d load the bases on balls, then strike out the side.” 9

With the help of his American Legion coach, former major-leaguer and Benton native Wes Gardner, by his senior year Lee had learned better control and was drawing attention from scouts thanks to his 91-mph fastball – although during some of his senior year he played center field rather than pitching because of a minor shoulder injury.10

Following his graduation, he was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 8th round of the 1997 MLB June Amateur Draft. When the two sides could not agree on terms, Lee signed with the nearby University of Arkansas at Little Rock. However, because Division I players were not eligible to be drafted until after their junior year, he instead ended up at Meridian (Mississippi) Community College (MMCC), where he could be drafted following his first season.11 

After a poor 1998 season at MMCC, Lee’s stock dropped. He was again taken in the MLB draft, but this time in the 20th round by the Baltimore Orioles. He again chose not to sign and after the 1999 season at MMCC, accepted a college scholarship from the University of Arkansas for the 2000 season.12 As a Razorback, he posted a 4-3 record with a 4.45 ERA in 64 2/3 innings.13

Drafted for the third time in 2000, this time in the fourth round by the Montreal Expos, Lee signed for $300,000 and was assigned to the Class-A Cape Fear Crocs of the South Atlantic League. Before reporting, Lee married his girlfriend, Kristen Martin, whom he’d known since he was in the seventh grade. They would have two children, Jaxon (2001) and Maci (2003).

“It’s not really a ‘love story,’” Kristen remembered. “We ran around with the same friends in high school but weren’t sweethearts. Then he would come home from college and look me up. I didn’t know much about baseball, didn’t even know what the draft was. I just knew he was leaving at some point. Then he decided he wasn’t leaving without me.”14

After posting a 1-4 record with a 5.24 ERA in 44⅔ innings with Cape Fear, Lee spent the 2001 season with the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Florida State League. The Hammerheads were fighting for a playoff spot, and Lee had a chance to lead the league in ERA when Kristen and four-month-old Jaxon joined him on the road on the final weekend of the season. Then life threw them a curveball.15  

Jaxon, who weighed just 13 pounds, was suddenly sick with a high fever and vomiting; he was rushed to the emergency room. As doctors ran tests, Lee left for the ballpark, only to be summoned back later to hear them express fear that Jaxon had leukemia. More tests the next day at the Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando confirmed that he had acute myelogenous leukemia, an aggressive form of the disease. The Lees were told that the infant survival rate was around 30 percent.16

After three months of chemotherapy, the outlook seemed promising, but in January 2002, Kristen noticed that a bulge had formed behind Jaxon’s right eye – the leukemia was spreading. Jaxon was sent to the Texas Transplant Institute in San Antonio. There, on February 1, in a then-new procedure, he received stem cells from a donated umbilical cord to create a new immune system.17 Another round of chemotherapy followed in which the doctors essentially shut down Jaxon’s immune system in an attempt to destroy the cancer cells.18

“For a long time, Jaxon couldn’t even leave his room,” said Kristen. “He was near death, and they didn’t want him to get an infection.”19

Lee started the season in Double-A Harrisburg of the Eastern League and spoke daily with his wife about Jaxon’s condition. Just over three months after the transplant, a test of Jaxon’s bone marrow showed no signs of the disease.20

In 2006, with 5-year-old Jaxon officially in remission, Kristen said, “Every day, Cliff and I look at Jaxon and we’re just so thankful that he’s a healthy little boy. You never take that for granted after what we’ve been through.”21

Motivated by Jaxon’s experience, Cliff and Kristen were actively involved throughout his career with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Miracle League charities. In 2010, they honored Dr. Robert Saylors, the specialist who treated Jaxon at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, with a $1 million donation to endow a chair – named for both Dr. Saylors and Jaxon – in diseases of the blood, Saylor’s specialty.22

On June 27, 2002, with the Montreal Expos in contention for a playoff spot and hoping to solidify their rotation, Lee was traded along with minor leaguers Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore, and veteran Lee Stevens to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for pitchers Bartolo Colón and Tim Drew. Lee left Harrisburg with a 7-2 record, 105 strikeouts and a 3.23 ERA in 15 starts.

Following three starts for the Akron Aeros, Lee was promoted to Triple-A Buffalo of the International League. After posting a 3.77 ERA in 43 innings, he was rewarded with a late-season call-up to Cleveland. In his major-league debut on September 15, he allowed just one run on two hits but walked four in 5 1/3 innings and took the loss against Minnesota. His final start of the season, a no-decision against Kansas City, was similar – one run in five innings with four walks.

After missing the first two months of the 2003 season with injuries, Lee saw time for both Akron and Buffalo before getting a spot start for Cleveland on June 30 at Kansas City. He picked up his first major-league win, allowing two unearned runs in six innings, but was sent back to the minors following the game. He rejoined the Indians in mid-August and earned two more wins but was 0-2 with a 4.62 ERA in five September starts, all Cleveland losses.

Lee won a spot in the Indians’ 2004 rotation and started 33 games. On June 13, during an interleague game against Cincinnati, Lee surrendered Ken Griffey Jr.’s 499th career home run. In Griffey’s next at-bat, Lee fired the first pitch behind his head, earning a six-game suspension. Despite a 5.43 ERA in 179 innings, Lee tied Jake Westbrook with a team-high 14 victories and led the Cleveland staff with 161 strikeouts.

In 2005 Lee topped the 200-inning plateau – the first of eight times – while lowering his ERA to 3.79. He was particularly effective after the All-Star break, winning his next nine decisions before losing his final start (despite giving up just one run in eight innings). Lee finished with an 18-5 record and led the American League with a .783 winning percentage. He finished fourth in the AL Cy Young Award voting, which was won by Colon, who was pitching then for the Angels

During the 2006 season, in which he was 14-11 with a 4.40 ERA, Lee signed a three-year, $14 million contract extension with the Indians.23

Because of an abdominal strain, Lee didn’t make his first appearance in 2007 until May 3.24 He won two of his first four starts – including a three-hit complete game – but it was a rollercoaster season; he had an 8.69 ERA while losing his next four starts.

After winning three times in his next four starts, in which he pitched well, Lee lost four consecutive starts in July, allowing 26 earned runs in 20 innings. On July 26, after surrendering seven runs for the third consecutive start, he was booed as he left the mound and sarcastically tipped his cap to Cleveland fans before entering the dugout. He was sent down to Buffalo the following day.25

Lee was called back up in September and appeared in four games out of the bullpen. He finished 5-8 with a 6.29 ERA in 97 1/3 innings and was left off the Indians’ playoff roster.26

Despite an encouraging meeting with Cleveland pitching coach Carl Willis during the winter, Lee had been the subject of trade rumors during the offseason when he showed up in spring training in 2008 to compete for the fifth spot in the Cleveland starting rotation.27 Although he didn’t have a great spring, his competition – Jeremy Sowers and Aaron Laffey – faltered. Thus, Lee won the spot almost by default.28

Pitching more aggressively and with more focus, Lee exploded out of the gate for a magical season in 2008. He won his first six starts with an ERA of 0.81 while striking out 39 and walking just two batters in 44 2/3 innings, which included a 27-inning scoreless streak.29

With a 12-2 record and 2.31 ERA, Lee started the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium on July 15 and struck out three batters in two scoreless innings.

Following the break, Lee won 10 of 11 decisions to finish the season with a 22-3 record – including 10-0 at home – and a 2.54 ERA with 170 strikeouts for a Cleveland team that finished 81-81.30 He pitched at least five innings in all 31 starts. His shutout of the Chicago White Sox on September 1 made him the Indians’ first 20-game winner since Gaylord Perry in 1974, ending a major-league record 34-year span between 20-game winners for a franchise. Lee was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year and won the AL Cy Young award.31

“It’s ironic how the game can go from one extreme to the other sometimes,” Lee said in 2020. “It was a special year and one of those deals that the stars kind of aligned for me. I used failing the year before as motivation to go out there and prove everyone wrong. That was definitely the turning point in my career.”32

Lee started slowly in 2009, losing five of his first seven starts (despite a 3.45 ERA) before winning three consecutive starts in July, in which he allowed four runs and no walks in 25 innings. He improved his record to 7-9 with a 3.14 ERA before being traded on July 29 to the Philadelphia Phillies, who were looking to upgrade their pitching staff in hopes of repeating as World Series champions.33

Lee was 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts for Philadelphia as the Phillies clinched their third straight NL East title; he then embarked on a magnificent postseason run. In five starts, Lee was 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in 40 1/3 innings; he struck out 33 and walked six.

In two starts in the NLDS against Colorado, he picked up a win while allowing two earned runs in 16 2/3 innings. He followed up with eight shutout innings in a Game Three victory in the NLCS against Los Angeles, which the Phillies won in five games.

Given the Game One start in the World Series at Yankee Stadium, Lee fanned 10 and allowed just an unearned run in the ninth inning of Philadelphia’s 6-1 win.34 He was the first pitcher to throw a complete game with 10 or more strikeouts and no walks in a World Series games since Pittsburgh’s Deacon Phillippe in 1903.35

New York took the next three games before Lee kept the Phillies alive in Game Five. He allowed just two runs in the first seven innings, but after the first three Yankees batters reached in the eighth, he was eventually charged with five runs. When Philadelphia held on for an 8-6-win, Lee was credited with his second World Series victory. New York won the series with a victory in Game Six.36

Following the season, the Phillies, who had initially made a run for Toronto’s Roy Halladay before acquiring Lee, acquired the former Cy Young Award winner Halladay in a complicated four-team trade with Seattle, Oakland, and Toronto that sent Lee to Seattle. Lee had one year remaining on his contract and an extension with the Mariners was not part of the trade negotiations.37   

Lee’s debut with the Mariners in 2010 was delayed because he started the season serving a five-game suspension for throwing a pitch over the head of Arizona’s Chris Snyder during an exhibition game.38 When he finally took the mound for Seattle, he was outstanding; in 13 starts he was 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA in 103 2/3 innings while walking just six batters. He was selected to his second All-Star team – but when he pitched a scoreless inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 13, he was wearing a different uniform.

With Seattle headed toward a disappointing 101-loss season and already 14 games out of first place in the AL West in early July, Lee expected to be traded. With a deal to the Yankees appearing imminent, Lee checked with his former Cleveland teammate CC Sabathia, by then with the Yankees, about places to live in New York.39 But at the last minute, the Texas Rangers swooped in with a better offer and acquired Lee on July 9.40  

On August 6 at Oakland, Lee went eight innings, striking out eight with no walks, to collect his 100th career win. He finished just 4-6 with a 3.98 ERA in 15 starts for Texas as the Rangers won their first division title since 1999. But the club had traded for Lee hoping that his history of postseason dominance could get them past the ALDS for the first time after three losses in the late 1990s (all to the Yankees).41 And he delivered.

In the ALDS against Tampa Bay, Lee allowed one run and struck out 10 in seven innings of the Rangers’ 5-1 win in Game One. After the Rays rallied to force a decisive Game Five, he was even more dominant, hurling a complete game with 11 strikeouts in a 5-1 victory. He didn’t issue a walk in either game.

After Texas split the first two games of the American League Championship Series with New York, Lee squared off in Game Three against another lefty with an outstanding postseason resume. Through seven innings, Lee and Andy Pettitte were locked in a pitcher’s duel, with the only runs scoring on Josh Hamilton’s two-run homer in the top of the first.  Pettitte left after the seventh, but Lee finished eight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and a walk as he struck out 13 Yankees. Texas exploded for six in the ninth to claim an 8-0 victory and then won two of the next three games to advance to its first World Series.

In his previous three playoff starts, Lee became the first AL pitcher with three consecutive postseason wins and 10 or more strikeouts in each win.42 In eight career postseason starts Lee was 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA in 64 1/3 innings; he had struck out 67 batters, walked just seven, and allowed just one home run.

But Lee’s postseason dominance ended in the World Series against the San Francisco Giants when he suffered two losses. In Game One, he allowed six earned runs in just 4 2/3 innings. He pitched much better in Game Five, allowing three runs in seven innings, but was outdueled by Tim Lincecum. The Giants won the series in five games.

Lee was a coveted free agent following the season, with the front-runners for his services being the Rangers and the Yankees. However, in the last few days the Phillies entered the picture and, although they offered less than the Yankees and Rangers, he ended up signing a five-year, $120 million deal.43

His family’s love of Philadelphia was a major factor in his decision. “We decided that this is where we were going to be the happiest and where we had the best chance to win,” he said. “Hopefully this is where I end my career.”44

In 2011 Lee started slowly but put together another spectacular season. Through May he was just 4-5 with a 3.94 ERA – but on May 6, he set a career high with 16 strikeouts in just seven innings against the Atlanta Braves. Two starts later, on May 16 against the St. Louis Cardinals, he allowed six walks, the most in his career. He was the losing pitcher in both games.

When the calendar turned to June, Lee was almost untouchable as he was 5-0 and allowed just one run in 42 innings for a 0.21 ERA. He ended the month with three consecutive shutouts, part of a streak of 34 1/3 scoreless innings.

After a 1-2 record in July, Lee put together another incredible month in August – going 5-0 again with a 0.45 ERA.45 He became just the third pitcher in MLB history with two months of five or more wins and sub-1.00 ERA, joining Walter Johnson (1913) and Bob Gibson (1968).46 In his August 9 start against the Dodgers, Lee struck out 10 and belted one his two career home runs in the 2-1 victory.

Lee finished the season 17-8 with a 2.40 ERA, 238 strikeouts and a major-league leading six shutouts, the most since Randy Johnson’s six in 1998.47 He finished third in the NL Cy Young Award voting, which was won by the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw, with Lee’s teammate Halladay second.

After losing to San Francisco in the 2010 NLCS, the 2011 Phillies eyed a return to the World Series. Lee had joined Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt to form a formidable pitching staff that led the team to a 102-60 record and its fifth straight NL East title. In the NLDS they met the St. Louis Cardinals, who had won 23 of their final 32 games and clinched the wild card spot on the last day.

After Philadelphia won Game One behind Halladay, Lee was spotted a 4-0 lead early in Game Two, but he couldn’t hold it and suffered a 5-4 loss. The Cardinals defeated the Phillies 1-0 in the deciding fifth game and went on to an unexpected World Series title.

Lee had a statistically interesting season in 2012 as Philadelphia finished 81-81 and dropped to third place. He pitched well early, including 10 scoreless innings in a start on April 18 against the San Francisco Giants and an outing on May 15 in which he struck out 10 and allowed just one run in eight innings. Yet both of those games were no-decisions. At the end of June, his record was 0-5 in 13 starts.48  He started 30 games and finished just 6-9, despite a 3.16 ERA and 207 strikeouts and only 28 walks in 211 innings. For the first time since 2005, he did not throw a complete game.

Although the Phillies fell to fourth place in 2013 – their first losing season since 2002 – Lee posted a 14-8 record in 31 starts with a 2.87 ERA with 222 strikeouts in 222 2/3 innings. On September 16, in a 12-2 win over Miami, he had possibly the best game of his career. In addition to 14 strikeouts (and no walks) in eight innings, at the plate he was 3-for-4 – including his only career triple – and drove in four runs.

Injuries derailed Lee’s final season in 2014. On April 16 he suffered a 1-0 complete game loss to Atlanta, only to follow it up in his next start with 10 strikeouts in a win at Los Angeles in which he retired 20 straight batters. On May 18 against Cincinnati, Lee picked up a victory to even his record at 4-4; it would be his last outing for two months and the last victory of his career. He had been dealing with pain in his pitching elbow for several weeks and was placed on the disabled list with a flexor pronator strain.49

Following rehab, Lee returned on July 21 and suffered his final career defeat when he allowed 12 hits and six runs against San Francisco. Two starts later, on July 31, he seemed to be regaining his old form, retiring seven of the first eight batters (with four strikeouts) – but after throwing a pitch to Washington’s Denard Span, he signaled to the dugout and immediately left the game.50 Doctors recommended rest and rehabilitation rather than surgery.51 He did not pitch again in 2014.

When Lee reported for spring training in 2015, he felt pain in his elbow a couple of days after his debut.52 Hoping that with more rest he would be able to pitch later in the season, the 36-year-old Lee opted to forego surgery which would mean missing the entire season. He was placed on the 60-day DL but never took the mound in 2015.

The Phillies declined to pick up Lee’s $27.5 million option for 2016, making him an unrestricted free agent.53 Rather than trying to come back after almost two years of inaction, Lee chose to retire.

“After more rehab, it still never fully went away,” Lee said. “If I had intentions to play in 2016, I needed surgery, and I declined to do that. So that was pretty much the end of it.”54

After 13 seasons in the major leagues, Lee retired with a 143–91 record with 1,824 strikeouts, a 3.52 ERA – and no regrets.

“I would say I was happy with my career,” Lee said. “I had fun and got to play with a lot of really good players. My elbow started hurting me there at the end, but I was able to get out before I had any long-lasting effects from just grinding on your body. There are a lot of guys that played professional sports and then limp around the rest of their lives when they’re done for the way they beat their bodies up. I’m not in that boat, for which I’m thankful.”55

Following his playing career, Lee was enjoying the quiet life, living in Little Rock with family. “I basically spend time with my family and golf with my son quite a bit,” Lee said in 2020. “I like to fish, hunt, be in the woods. Grow some tomatoes.”56

Last revised: April 29, 2025

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and David Bilmes and fact-checked by Ray Danner.

Photo credit: Cliff Lee, Trading Card Database. 

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author also consulted Baseball-Reference.com.

Notes

1 During this time frame, Lee averaged 6.11 strikeouts per walk, best in the major leagues. Roy Halladay was second with a ratio of 4.91.

2 Brad Townsend, “Meet Cliff Lee: The Man Who Saved The Rangers (And His Wife Likes Being Close To Texas),” Dallas Morning News, October 18, 2010, https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/rangers/2010/10/18/meet-cliff-lee-the-man-who-saved-the-rangers-and-his-wife-likes-being-close-to-texas/, (accessed April 2, 2025).

3 Townsend, “Meet Cliff Lee: The Man Who Saved The Rangers (And His Wife Likes Being Close To Texas)”.

4 Michael O’Keeffe, “News Visits Arkansas Community That Turned Cliff Lee into An Ace,” New York Daily News, November 14, 2010: 58.

5 O’Keeffe, “News Visits Arkansas Community That Turned Cliff Lee into An Ace.”

6 O’Keeffe, “News Visits Arkansas Community That Turned Cliff Lee into An Ace.”

7 Bud Shaw, “Cliff Lee: Wild and Crazy Guy,” MentalFloss.com, November 1, 2010, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/26252/cliff-lee-wild-and-crazy-guy, (accessed April 2, 2025).

8 O’Keeffe,  “News Visits Arkansas Community That Turned Cliff Lee into An Ace.”

9 O’Keeffe, “News Visits Arkansas Community That Turned Cliff Lee into An Ace.”

10 O’Keeffe, “News Visits Arkansas Community That Turned Cliff Lee into An Ace.”

11 O’Keeffe, “News Visits Arkansas Community That Turned Cliff Lee into An Ace.”

12 Brittany Ghiroli, “Lee Was Drafted By O’s, But Then Went To College,” MLB.com, May 24, 2018, https://www.mlb.com/news/cliff-lee-was-drafted-by-orioles-didn-t-sign-c278217418?msockid=39b2a367016f61ff1f21ac9a0067606b, (accessed April 2, 2025).

13 Cliff Lee, The Baseball Cube, https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/5965/, Page Last Updated February 12, 2025.

14 Townsend, “Meet Cliff Lee: The Man Who Saved The Rangers (And His Wife Likes Being Close To Texas)”.

15 Lee finished with a 2.79 ERA and a 6-7 record in 109 2/3 innings but fell short of the minimum number of innings required to lead the league. https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/leaders/l-FLOR/y-2001, (accessed April 2, 2025).

16 Terry Pluto, “Lee Family Knows Not to Take Life for Granted,” Akron Beacon Journal, September 5, 2006: C1.

17 Bonnie D. Ford, “Cliff Lee’s Hard-Won Perspective,” ESPN.com, September 30, 2011, https://www.espn.com/mlb/playoffs/2011/story/_/id/7040473/cliff-lee-wife-kristen-lend-quiet-support-cancer-hospital-arkansas, (accessed April 2, 2025).

18 Pluto, “Lee Family Knows Not to Take Life for Granted.”

19 Pluto, “Lee Family Knows Not to Take Life for Granted.”

20 Ford, “Cliff Lee’s Hard-Won Perspective.”

21 Pluto, “Cliff Lee’s Hard-Won Perspective.”

22 Gavin Lesnick, “Cliff Lee donates $1 million to Arkansas Children’s Hospital,” ArkansasOnLine.com, November 23, 2010, https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2010/nov/23/cliff-lee-donates-1-million-arkansas-childrens-hos/.

23 Associated Press, “Cleveland Indians sign Lee to $14-million US, three-year extension,” Winnipegfreepress.com, August 8, 2006, https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/historic/2006/08/08/cleveland-indians-sign-lee-to-14-million-us-three-year-extension, (accessed April 2, 2025).

24 Paul Hoynes, “Another Tribe Win as Lee Finishes What He Started.” The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), May 9, 2007: D1.

25 Paul Hoynes, “Cliff Lee Starts Fast And Never Stops: On This Date In Cleveland Indians History,” Cleveland.com, https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2020/04/cliff-lee-starts-fast-and-never-stops-on-this-date-in-cleveland-indians-history.html, (accessed April 2, 2025).

26 Cleveland advanced to the ALCS where it lost in seven games to the Boston Red Sox.

27 Nino Colla, “AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee Goes from Trash Heap to Treasure,” BleacherReport.com, November 3, 2008, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/81243-al-cy-young-cliff-lee-goes-from-trash-heap-to-treasure, (accessed April 2, 2025).

28 Colla, “AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee Goes from Trash Heap to Treasure.”

29 Hoynes, “Cliff Lee Starts Fast And Never Stops: On This Date In Cleveland Indians History”.

30 Lee was 22-2 entering his final start; his .917 winning percentage would have set a modern major-league record for a 20-game winner, topping New York Yankees left-hander Ron Guidry’s .893 when he was 25-3 in 1978, but he allowed five runs in seven innings at Boston and took the loss. Lee finished with a winning percentage of .880, tying Brooklyn’s Preacher Roe (22-3 in 1951) for third on the list since 1900.

31 Lee was the second consecutive Indians pitcher to win the Cy Young Award; CC Sabathia won in 2007. The other Cleveland pitchers to win are Gaylord Perry (1972), Corey Kluber (2014 and 2017), and Shane Bieber (2020).

32 Bob Holt, “All-Out Attack: Slow To Develop, Lee Became Best In The Game,” ArkansasOnLine.com, July10, 2020, https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/jul/10/all-out-attack/, (accessed April 2, 2025).

33 Lee was traded with Ben Francisco in exchange for minor leaguer Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson.

34 On the way to Yankee Stadium, Lee’s cab got stuck in traffic. He exited the cab, took the subway and arrived an hour later than normal. Shaw, “Cliff Lee: Wild and Crazy Guy.”

35 “Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame Recognizes Six,” The Daily World (Helena Arkansas), February 15, 2011: 4.

36 The Yankees’ Game Two starter was Lee’s longtime friend A.J. Burnett, who was from Central Arkansas Christian High School in North Little Rock, Arkansas, which is just 27 miles from Lee’s alma mater Benton High School. Burnett gave up six runs in two-plus innings and was the losing pitcher.

37“Phillies Complete Halladay Deal,” ESPN.com, December 16, 2009, https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=4748216, (accessed April 2, 2025).

38 “Cliff Lee suspended for first five games of season,” Seattle Times, March 17, 2020, https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/cliff-lee-suspended-for-first-five-games-of-season/, (accessed April 2, 2025).

39 Townsend, “Meet Cliff Lee: The Man Who Saved The Rangers (And His Wife Likes Being Close To Texas)”.

40Lee and Mark Lowe went to the Rangers for  minor-leaguer Matt Lawson, Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke and Justin Smoak.

41 After Texas won the first meeting in 1996 ALDS, New York won three straight games and then swept Texas in 1998 and 1999.

42 Lee also had back-to-back such games in the 2009 postseason. Through the end of the 2024 season, the only other pitcher with three consecutive such games was St. Louis Cardinals great Bob Gibson, who did so over three starts in the 1967 and 1968 World Series.

43 The Yankees had offered Lee a seven-year, $148 million contract. Destiny Lugardo, “Phillies All the Way: The Four Aces And Joe Take The Stage,” philliesnation.com, https://www.philliesnation.com/2021/03/phillies-all-the-way-the-four-aces-and-joe-take-the-stage/, (accessed April 2, 2025).

44 Jason Brewer, “Cliff Lee: “I Never Wanted To Leave In The First Place,” philly.sbnation.com, https://philly.sbnation.com/philadelphia-phillies/2010/12/15/1878424/cliff-lee-i-never-wanted-to-leave-in-the-first-place, (accessed April 2, 2025).

45 Both runs Lee allowed in August came on a home run by Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt on August 17.

46 “Cliff Lee Joins Two of the All-Time Greats,” ESPN.com, September 1, 2011, https://www.espn.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/25681/cliff-lee-joins-two-of-the-all-time-greats, (accessed April 2, 2025).

47 As of the end of the 2024 season, Felix Hernandez (2012) was the only pitcher to throw five shutouts in a season since Lee’s six shutouts in 2011.

48 Lee was the first Phillies pitcher since Steve Carlton in 1981 to pitch 10 shutout innings in a single start. As of the end of the 2024 season, Lee was last pitcher to pitch 10 innings in a game.

49 Brendan Maloy, “Phillies’ Cliff Lee placed on 15-day DL with left elbow sprain,” Sports Illustrated.com, May 20, 2014, https://www.si.com/si-wire/2014/05/20/phillies-cliff-lee-dl-elbow-sprain, (accessed April 2, 2025).

50 Bill Evans, “Cliff Lee’s Season Likely Over After Suffering Elbow Injury In Win Over Nationals,” NJ.com, August 1, 2014, https://www.nj.com/phillies/2014/07/cliff_lees_season_likely_over_after_suffering_elbow_injury_in_win_over_nationals.html, (accessed April 2, 2025).

51 Holt, “All-Out Attack: Slow To Develop, Lee Became Best In The Game.”

52 Andrew Porter, “Cliff Lee: If I Have Surgery, Career Could Be Done,” CBSNews.com, March 9, 2015, https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/cliff-lee-if-i-have-surgery-career-could-be-done/, (accessed April 2, 2025).

53 Lee received a $12.5 million buyout. David Esser, “Phillies news: What ever happened to Cliff Lee?,” Thatballsouttahere.com, April 17, 2020, https://thatballsouttahere.com/2020/04/17/phillies-news-cliff-lee/, (accessed April 2, 2025).

54 Holt, “All-Out Attack: Slow To Develop, Lee Became Best In The Game.”

55 Holt, “All-Out Attack: Slow To Develop, Lee Became Best In The Game.”

56 Holt, “All-Out Attack: Slow To Develop, Lee Became Best In The Game.”