Cliff Lee

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**Cliff Lee**

Cleveland Indians — No. 31
Pitcher
Born: August 30, 1978 (1978-08-30) (age 29) Benton, Arkansas
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
Major League Baseball debut
September 15, 2002 for the Cleveland Indians
Selected MLB statistics (through April 30, 2008)
Win-Loss	60-36
Earned run average	4.42
Strikeouts	588
Teams
Cleveland Indians (2002–present)

Clifton Phifor "Cliff" Lee (born August 30, 1978 in Benton, Arkansas) is a left-handed starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians in Major League Baseball. He was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 8th round of the amateur draft out of high school, but chose to attend the Meridian Community College. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 20th round of the 1998 amateur draft, but did not sign, but chose to attend the University of Arkansas. In the 2000 amateur draft, he was chosen in the 4th round by the Montreal Expos and signed in July of that year. In June 2002, the Expos traded him with Brandon Phillips, Lee Stevens, and Grady Sizemore to Cleveland in exchange for Bartolo Colón and Tim Drew.

Since his call up to Cleveland in September 2002, Lee had been a fixture in the Indians' starting rotation, winning at least 14 games in each of his first 3 full seasons and tossing more than 200 innings in both 2005 and 2006. In 2005, he finished the season with an 18-5 record and a 3.79 ERA, earning him 4th place in the AL Cy Young Award voting that year. In 2006, The Indians rewarded Cliff with a midseason, 3-year, $14 million contract extension through the 2009 season.

Lee's repertoire features a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball and cut fastball as well as a circle changeup and a curveball. He also added a slider after returning from the disabled list.

1 2007 Problems and Controversies
2 2008 Season
3 References
4 External links

[edit] 2007 Problems and Controversies

In 2007, Lee suffered an abdominal strain during a spring training start, forcing him to begin the regular season on the disabled list. He returned to the Indians rotation in May, but struggled to a 4-9 record and a 5.38 ERA in his first 16 starts. On July 21, Lee hit Texas Rangers' right fielder Sammy Sosa in the head with a pitch on a night when the Rangers were honoring Sosa for hitting his 600th home run. The beaning sparked an altercation between Lee and Indians' catcher Víctor Martínez and led to a players-only meeting immediately after the game.^[1] Cliff encountered even more problems on July 26, 2007 where he gave up 7 runs in 4 innings. When he left the ballgame, the fans booed him and right before he entered the dugout, he tipped his cap to the fans. The next day, July 27, 2007, the struggling left-hander was optioned to Class AAA Buffalo. ^[2] He was called back up on September 1 when rosters expanded, but was not a part of the regular starting rotation.

[edit] 2008 Season

Lee has started the 2008 season with much success. In his first 9 starts, he has amassed a 7-1 record. He was the first Cleveland pitcher to win his first six starts since Greg Swindell in 1988. He also recorded his first career shutout on April 25, 2008 against the Kansas City Royals, allowing just 3 hits and 0 walks. As of May 26, he has a American League-leading 1.50 ERA; in 66 innings pitched, he has given up 11 earned runs and 9 walks, while striking out 54 batters. He also has a WHIP of only .88 which is second in the AL. He had the lowest On-base percentage at .163 through five starts since 1909. For his efforts and success, he was named the AL pitcher of the month for April.