Cliff Lee

Cliff Lee is a Major League Baseball pitcher. Lee was born in Arkansas in 1978. He attended the University of Arkansas. Lee was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 2000 draft. He was later traded to the Cleveland Indians in 2002 in a deal involving pitcher Bartolo Colon. Lee made his major league debut on September 15, 2002.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leecl02.shtml http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=424324

Lee spent most of his major league career with the Cleveland Indians until July 29, 2009. The Indians traded Lee along with Ben Francisco to the Philadelphia Phillies. Lee was involved in the Phillies pennant run in 2009. Lee would go on to win two games for the Phillies in the 2009 World Series with a 2.81 ERA. http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/interleague_and_events.jsp On December 14, 2009, Lee was traded from the Philadelphia Phillies to the Seattle Mariners.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leecl02.shtml http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=424324

Even though Lee made his first Major League appearance in 2002, he did not become a regular member of the Cleveland starting rotation until 2004. That year, he posted a record of 14 wins and eight losses and an ERA of 5.43. In 2005, Lee compiled an 18-5 record and a 3.79 ERA for the Indians, finishing fourth in Cy Young Award balloting. In 2006, Lee finished with a 13-11 record. In 2007, Lee spent much of the year on the disabled list or in the minors on rehabilitation assignments. Lee rebounded in 2008 by winning the Cy Young Award.http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=424324

Lee was named the game one starter for the Phillies in the 2009 World Series, pitching a complete game and leading the Phillies to a 6-1 victory over the New York Yankees. He was also the game-winning pitcher in game five; however the Phillies lost the series four games to two. After the 2009 season, the Phillies traded Lee to the Mariners.http://mlb.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_11_04_phimlb_nyamlb_1

Lee began the 2010 season in the Mariners' starting rotation. Midway through the season, with the Mariners no longer in contention for the playoffs, Lee was traded to the Texas Rangers. Lee was part of a Rangers team that would compete in its first ever World Series in 2010. Lee would go 0-2 in the World Series with a 6.94 ERA as the Rangers went on to lose the series to the San Francisco Giants. After the World Series, Lee declared for free agency. http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/news/story?id=536761518 http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/individual_player_postseason.jsp?playerID=424324&statType=219

During the 2010 off-season, Lee drew interest from the Rangers and the New York Yankees. At one point, the Yankees offered a deal worth as much as $150 million. However, Lee re-signed with Phillies on December 14, 2010. The contract that Lee signed so he could return to Philadelphia was for five years at $120 million dollars. In doing so, Lee signed for less money that was being offered to him by the Yankees. Lee stated that he had never wanted to leave the Phillies and that he was excited to be back with a team that had improved since he left.http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2010/12/cliff-lee-phillies-120-million-deal-announced/120