Cliff Lee's Wife: Kristen Lee Part of the Decision?

Dec 14, 2010

Cliff Lee's wife, Kristen, not surprisingly had a minor role in deciding where the free agent would land in 2011.

According to Phillies beat writer Randy Miller: "A good source tells me that Cliff Lee''s wife is the main reason he didn't sign with Yankees. She wanted NO PART of New York, i was told.....Apparently incident with Lee's wife had last fall with Yankees fans wasn't forgotten. Besides that, she's not fond of NY. She LOVES Philly."

A few months ago, following the Texas Rangers' win over the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series, reports surfaced that Kristen Lee was harassed by New York fans when she watched her husband pitch at Yankee Stadium.

Instead of signing with the Yankees, Lee has reportedly taken less money to play for the Phillies: His contract is expected to be five years, $100 million with a good chance of a sixth year and another $20 milllion.

There seemed to be a good chance of Lee returning to Texas, because it was so close to Arkansas (the birth place and home of both Cliff and Kristen Lee), but that doesn't seem to be the case.

For more on the MLB offseason, see MLB Free Agents: The Latest on Cliff Lee, Adrian Beltre and Others.

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