Cliff Lee (leecl02)

From BR Bullpen

Clifton Phifer Lee

Bats Left, Throws Left
Height 6' 3", Weight 190 lb.
School Meridian Community College, University of Arkansas
Debut September 15, 2002
Born August 30, 1978 in Benton, AR USA

[edit] Biographical Information

After two seasons at Meridian Community College, pitcher Cliff Lee played at the University of Arkansas in 2000, going 4-3 with a 4.45 ERA and 77 strikeouts. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the fourth round of the 2000 amateur draft and made his pro debut that summer with the Cape Fear Crocs, where he was 1-4 in 11 starts. The next summer, he went 6-7 with a 2.79 ERA and 129 strikeouts with the Jupiter Hammerheads and struck out 10 batters in a game three times.

Lee began 2002 with the Harrisburg Senators and went 7-2 with a 3.23 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 15 starts before being traded to the Cleveland Indians in late June in a deal that brought Bartolo Colon to Montreal. After making three starts with the Akron Aeros, he was promoted to the AAA Buffalo Bisons in mid-July and was 3-2 in 8 starts for the club. He subsequently earned a September call-up to the Indians and was 0-1 with a 1.74 ERA in 2 big league starts.

After missing the first two months of the 2003 campaign due to injuries, he pitched for Akron and then Buffalo before being recalled by the Indians for a spot start against the Kansas City Royals on June 30th. He earned his first big league game in that outing and was then returned to AAA for 8 more starts. Recalled again in August, he went 2-3 with a 4.08 ERA in 8 more big league starts.

Lee was a full-time member of the Cleveland rotation in 2004. He led the club with 161 strikeouts and tied Jake Westbrook with a team-leading 14 wins. The next year, he was even better, winning 18 games, leading the American League with a .783 winning percentage, and finishing fourth in the AL Cy Young Award voting. He won 9 straight decisions to start the second half and overall was 9-1 with a 3.66 ERA in 14 starts following the All-Star break.

After winning 14 games in 2006, Lee missed the beginning of the 2007 campaign with an abdominal strain. After three minor league rehab starts, he made his 2007 debut with the Tribe in early May. However, he struggled, going 0-4 with an 11.70 ERA over four July starts, and was sent down to Buffalo on July 27th. He was brought back up to Cleveland in September and posted a 4.76 ERA in four appearances out of the pen.

Entering 2008, Lee was not even guaranteed a place on the Cleveland roster, but he earned the fifth rotation spot in Spring Training. In his first seven outings, he was 6-0 with a 0.67 ERA, and he had a 12-2 record at the All-Star break. On September 1st, he became the first 20-game winner in the majors that season with a 5-0 win over the Chicago White Sox, bringing his season's record to a stellar 20-2. At that time, the Indians were the only major league team ever to have 33 straight seasons without a 20-game winner: the streak was between Gaylord Perry in 1974, and Lee in 2008. The second longest such streak was 32 seasons by the Phillies, from 1918 to 1949, while the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals have not had a 20-game winner since Ross Grimsley in 1978.