The baseball pitcher known for his pinpoint control was in perfect command of the situation, as he proved by walking away from $30 million. That was an extra $30 million, actually. Lee chose to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies for $120 million rather than sign with the New York Yankees for $150 million.
Why? It wasn't the money. It was much more than that (even if it was, in the end, less).
Lee simply liked Philadelphia better. He liked the city better. He liked the team better. His wife was in agreement on both counts, which probably tells us the rest of what we need to know. Kristen Lee was appalled at Yankees fans' behavior during this year's playoffs. (She probably wasn't the only one so appalled, but that's another story entirely.)Cliff Lee wasn't at all happy with the Phillies when they dealt him to Seattle after he helped lead them to the World Series in 2009. (He won two games in the World Series, which the Phillies lost to the Yankees in six.) Lee was back in the World Series this year, with Texas, helping lead the Rangers to their first-ever Series appearance. (He didn't have the stellar results that his fans were used to, but that could have been because he ran into the Team of Torturous Destiny that was this year's San Francisco Giants.)
At any rate, Lee has proved that it isn't all about the money — the most money, anyway. Yes, he could have earned more money playing for the Yankees, but that would have meant playing 81 games in Yankee Stadium and living somewhere near New York and all the other things that go with donning the pinstripes — not to mention that Lee and his wife liked the city of Philadelphia more for its opportunities for their two young children.Instead, he'll be in a rotation that also features Roy Halladay, Cliff Hamels, and Roy Oswalt and he'll be backed up by one of the fiercest-hitting teams in all of baseball.
Maybe Cliff Lee did the right thing after all by making the bucks stop in Philly.
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