Clifton Phifer Lee was born August 30th 1978 in Benton, Arkansas. He is a left handed starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. Any day now he should be named the 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner for his outstanding performance in 2008.
Cliff was drafted by the Florida Marlins and then in 1998 he was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 8th round. He did not sign either of those time. He finally signed with the Montreal Expos in 2000 out of the University of Arkansas in the 4th round.
Cliff and teammate Grady Sizemore were part of one of the biggest trades in Indians history. During the 2002 season Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, and Lee Stevens were sent to the Indians for ace right hander Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew.
Cliff enjoyed early success in 2002-2003 during a limited time with the Indians and in his first full season (2004) he enjoyed pretty good success with a 14-8 record with a 5.43 ERA. However next season (2005) would be a breakout season for Lee as he went 18-5 with 3.79 ERA and coming in 4th in the Cy Young voting.
2007 was a year to forget for Lee. He started out by getting an injury in Spring Training forcing him to miss time. Then after a bad outing he was being booed off the field he tipped his hat to the crowd. The next day he was sent down to AAA Buffalo.
2008 was a year to remember for Lee. He posted an amazing 22-3 mark with an even better 2.54 ERA in 223.1 innings. He is a lock to be named the 2008 Cy Young anyday now.
