CLEVELAND – Cliff Lee wasn’t even guaranteed a spot in the Indians’ rotation when spring training began in 2008.
On Thursday, he was named the American League’s best pitcher.
Receiving 24 of a possible 28 first-place votes, Lee, a 30-year-old left-hander who went 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA, was chosen as the AL Cy Young Award winner.
Lee is the second straight Cleveland pitcher to win the coveted award after CC Sabathia won it in 2007 then was traded to Milwaukee towards the end of last season.
Lee, the Indians’ first 20-game winner since Gaylord Perry in 2004, led the AL in wins and ERA, posting the third-highest winning percentage for a 20-game winner (.880) in major league history.
Included among the achievements in a remarkable comeback year for Lee was a start for the AL in the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. He won the league’s Comeback Player of the Year Award by bouncing back from a 2007 season that saw him banished to the minors and finishing with a 5-8 record and 6.29 ERA.

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