All-Time Indians: Cliff Lee

Per the rules of the All-Time Indians club, once a player retires, they are immediately eligible and Cliff Lee, who recently announced his retirement, is more eligible than most. Even from the beginning of his career Lee was a coveted player, going in the eighth round in 1997 to the Marlins, then being signed as a fourth round pick in 2000 by the Expos. Before he made his AAA debut he was involved in the franchise breaking trade that sent Bartolo Colon to Montreal for Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips and Lee.

After impressive numbers in AAA for Cleveland after the June 2002 trade, Lee made his Major League debut in September after just two full seasons in the minor leagues. Joining the rotation, which was a mess beyond C.C. Sabathia after Colon left, Lee made two starts and in each pitched at least five innings and allowed one run. This would be an excellent foreshadowing of his future in Cleveland, although it wouldn’t be a smooth ride.

Lee started 2003 in the minors again, but it wouldn’t be too long until he rejoined the rotation. Again, it was a rough spot for the team beyond Sabathia although Jake Westbrook did show some promise in his first year as a starter and Brian Anderson was solid on his way back down. In late June, Lee was back and would make nine starts in total with a 3.61 ERA in 52.1 innings. Home runs were a problem as they would be for the next few years and he hadn’t become the high strike out pitcher he would eventually become late in his career, but Lee certainly had Indians fans excited that they had found a number two to follow C.C.

He would become a fixture in the rotation for the next three seasons, although 2004 would be less than expected. In 33 starts, Lee allowed a 5.43 ERA with his best K/9 before 2011 (8.1) and the worst BB/9 of his career (4.1). This season, Westbrook pitched well as did Sabathia and it appeared that the rotation woes that had legitimately lasted since the late 1990’s, had been solved.

While most times in Indians history things that looked to have promise fell apart before they could be realized, this time, things really did work out. Five Indians starters accounted for 158 of 162 starts and Kevin Millwood, who lead the league in ERA, had an argument for the Cy Young. Lee was the second best pitcher in this group as he realized his potential for the first time, holding a 3.79 ERA with an 18-5 record and just 52 walks in 202 innings compared to 147 strike outs. In the voting for the prestigious pitcher award at the end of the season, voters looked beyond ERA and loved Lee’s 18 wins, giving him eight vote points for a fourth place finish behind the man he was traded for, Colon.

Unfortunately, wins have more to do with the team than the pitcher and the next year, Lee only won 14 with a 4.40 ERA. While wins don’t deserve much focus, Lee deserves much credit for making at least 32 starts in each season and throwing 200 in the last two. This performance was far enough below his expectations that after returning from injury in 2007 and posting a 6.38 ERA in 16 starts, he began a trek that saw him go all the way to rookie ball before working his way back up to the Majors for the end of the season as a reliever. Luckily for the Indians, they didn’t need Lee. Sabathia and Westbrook each pitched well and Paul Byrd was as dependable as ever. The surprise success of Fausto Carmona (later known as Roberto Hernandez) was what really allowed Lee to start all over as the Indians didn’t need to force him through just to eat innings. Instead, Lee was able to fix his issues in the minor leagues and come back better than ever in 2008.

From an Indians perspective, 2008 would be the peak of Cliff Lee’s career although he would have even better seasons in Philadelphia and Seattle later on. After C.C. Sabathia won the Cy Young in 2007, it seemed that if another would in the near future, it would be Carmona. Instead, Lee took the award with 22 wins and a 2.54 ERA, both numbers which lead the league. Lee was selected for the All-Star game that year as well as his 22-3 mark set the Indians single season winning percentage mark. Fixing those problems that affected him early on, Lee also lead the league in HR/9 (0.5), BB/9 (1.4) and shut outs (2).

It was obvious early on in 2008 that beyond Lee, the Indians didn’t have the talent to compete for a play-off spot and Sabathia was jettisoned mid-season to Milwaukee for Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley. In 2009, the situation was similar and despite having another year and a half under team control, Lee would be traded in the middle of the season as would Victor Martinez as part of a total team dismantling. Before the deal, Lee made 22 starts as the Indians ace with a 3.14 ERA allowing just 33 walks 152 innings and after, he was almost as good with a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts for Philadelphia.

While Lee wasn’t included on the Indians roster for the play-offs in 2007, he would get his chance with the Phillies in 2009 going all the way to the World Series where they lost to the Yankees. This can’t be blamed on Lee, however, as throughout the post-season he went 6-0 allowing 7 earned runs in 40.1 innings.

The Indians returned Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson and Jason Donald for Lee, but he wouldn’t stay in Philadelphia long despite that cost. In that off-season he went to Seattle for J.C. Ramirez and two other players, then in July of 2010 he was sent to Texas for Justin Smoak and others in a six player deal. Finally becoming a free agent at the end of 2010, Lee broke the bank with the a six year, $120M deal back with Philadelphia. Lee was a 2010 All-Star after posting a 2.34 ERA through 13 starts with the Mariners before the trade to Texas and returned to the game for the National League in 2011.

From 2011 through 2014, the Phillies got what they paid for even if they didn’t need it. During that stretch, they made the play-offs just once, but Lee was dynamic going to two more All-Star games and posting a 2.89 ERA in 747.2 innings across that span. In all for his career, he won 143 games in 13 years with a 3.52 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 43.3 WAR.

Despite never having any real injuries during his career, Lee hurt his elbow in mid-2014 and didn’t pitch after July 31st. He then tore a tendon in his shoulder and missed all of the 2015 season (for which he was paid $25M) and was cut before the 2016 season (for which he was paid a $12.5M buy out). At 37 years old and more than a year and a half removed from his last game, Lee finally called it quits after being unable to find a team willing to guarantee an injured pitcher $8M.

In addition to his impressive career totals, Lee left his mark in Cleveland history as the third of now four Cy Young winners. For his career, it’s hard to say he was anything but a winner, snatching the wins in 83 games for Cleveland, the most in Indians history by a pitcher with less than 1,400 innings pitched. Similarly, his .664 winning percent is the seventh highest in Indians history among starters with at least 20 decisions. His only other top ten career mark with the Indians was his 127 and like his 4.01 ERA, they are more reminiscent of his 2004 and 2007 campaigns than the dominant years surrounding them. He should be instead remembered for 2005, 2008 and his great years later on with Seattle and Philadelphia. Particularly since he was never really the ace of the staff, Lee has to be considered one of the best non-ace starters in Indians history.