Cliff Lee

Baseball Player Won-Loss Records
Home List of Articles

Cliff Lee

2020 Hall of Fame Ballot Series: Cliff Lee

Five facts about Cliff Lee:

Cliff Lee was named to four All-Star teams in his career. He started the 2008 All-Star game for the American League

Cliff Lee received Cy Young votes five times, winning the award in 2008 when he had a traditional won-lost record of 22-3 and led the American League in wins, winning percentage, ERA (2.54), shutouts (2), and fewest walks per inning (34 in 223.1 IP).

Outside of his Cy Young season, Lee led the Amercian League in winning percentage, complete games, and WHIP once each. He led the National League in shutouts once. He led his league in fewest walks per inning four times and in strikeout-to-walk ratio three times.

In 2010, Cliff Lee pitched 212.1 innings in which he walked only 18 batters while striking out 185. His walk rate that season was the ninth lowest for a qualified pitcher (min. 1 IP per team game) since 1901. His strikeout-to-walk rate that season is the third highest since 1901 (it was the second-highest since 1901 at the time).

Cliff Lee pitched in 11 postseason games in his career - all starts. In those games, he had a traditional won-lost record of 7-3 and a 2.52 ERA with 89 K and only 10 walks in 82 innings pitched.

The first two tables below present Cliff Lee's career as measured by Player won-lost records, in and out of context.

Season	Team	Age	Games	pWins	pLosses	pWORL	pWOPA

Basic Player Won-Lost Records
						Value Decomposition
2002	CLE	23	2	0.6	0.6	0.1	0.0
2003	CLE	24	9	2.6	3.4	-0.4	-0.8
2004	CLE	25	33	11.8	12.6	1.1	-0.6
2005	CLE	26	32	11.7	10.0	3.5	2.0
2006	CLE	27	33	12.0	12.7	1.1	-0.5
2007	CLE	28	20	5.1	6.5	-0.4	-1.2
2008	CLE	29	31	15.7	8.1	9.5	7.9
+– 2009		30	34	14.5	13.3	3.7	1.8
	CLE		22	8.5	7.6	2.2	1.1
	PHI		12	5.9	5.6	1.5	0.8
+– 2010		31	28	13.1	9.4	5.4	3.9
	SEA		13	6.9	3.8	3.9	3.2
	TEX		15	6.2	5.5	1.5	0.7
2011	PHI	32	35	17.3	12.1	8.0	6.2
2012	PHI	33	33	11.9	11.3	3.0	1.5
2013	PHI	34	34	14.3	12.5	4.5	2.8
2014	PHI	35	13	4.6	4.4	1.0	0.5
			------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			337	134.9	116.6	40.2	23.6
			------	------	------	------	------
PostSeason (career)			12	6.3	3.6	3.6	3.0
			------	------	------	------	------
COMBINED			349	141.3	120.3	43.8	26.6

Season	Team	Age	Games	eWins	eLosses	eWORL	eWOPA

Expected Player Won-Lost Records
						Value Decomposition
2002	CLE	23	2	0.7	0.5	0.2	0.1
2003	CLE	24	9	3.1	2.8	0.8	0.4
2004	CLE	25	33	11.2	13.2	-0.1	-1.8
2005	CLE	26	32	10.9	10.8	1.8	0.3
2006	CLE	27	33	12.1	12.6	1.4	-0.3
2007	CLE	28	20	5.3	6.3	-0.1	-0.9
2008	CLE	29	31	14.5	9.2	7.3	5.6
+– 2009		30	34	14.7	13.0	4.4	2.6
	CLE		22	8.8	7.4	2.8	1.7
	PHI		12	5.9	5.7	1.6	0.9
+– 2010		31	28	13.6	8.9	6.4	4.9
	SEA		13	6.7	4.0	3.4	2.7
	TEX		15	6.9	4.8	3.0	2.2
2011	PHI	32	35	16.7	12.6	7.0	5.3
2012	PHI	33	33	13.0	10.2	5.1	3.6
2013	PHI	34	34	14.8	12.0	5.6	3.9
2014	PHI	35	13	4.5	4.4	1.0	0.4
			------	------	------	------	------
CAREER (reg. season)			337	134.9	116.6	40.7	24.1
			------	------	------	------	------
PostSeason (career)			12	6.2	3.7	3.4	2.7
			------	------	------	------	------
COMBINED			349	141.2	120.4	44.1	26.8

This is Cliff Lee's first year on the Hall-of-Fame ballot.

Vote Prediction

Cliff Lee had a better career than probably most of the other players debuting on this ballot. But even so, it is an honor for Cliff Lee simply to appear on a Hall-of-Fame ballot.

Player Won-Lost Records and Cliff Lee

Cliff Lee won the American League Cy Young Award in 2008. Player won-lost records agree with this decision as Cliff Lee led all pitchers in pWins over both positional average (pWOPA) and replacement level (pWORL) in 2008. Lee's pWORL, in particular, was exceptional in 2008. Lee was also among the best pitchers in baseball, as measured by pWORL, in 2011.

In each of these seasons, Lee had a pWORL greater than 8.0. This is an very high level of performance. Essentially, seasons with pWORL of 8 or higher could be thought of as "Hall-of-Fame level" seasons. Not every player who has an 8.0 pWORL season ends up having a Hall-of-Fame career, but most (deserving) Hall-of-Famers hit this level at some point in their career.

The next table, then, shows all seasons in which a player has earned 8.0 or more pWORL since 2000, ranked by pWins over replacement level.


			Top 10 Single Season Performances since 1947, ranked by pWins over Replacement Level
	Player	Season	pWins	pLosses	pWOPA	pWORL
1	Barry Bonds	2001	28.3	15.2	12.3	14.5
2	Barry Bonds	2004	23.7	11.4	11.5	13.3
3	Barry Bonds	2002	24.5	12.6	11.1	13.0
4	Jim Edmonds	2004	24.1	13.8	9.9	11.8
5	Randy Johnson	2002	19.0	10.5	9.5	11.4
6	Alex Rodriguez	2000	23.5	15.1	9.3	11.2
7	Pedro Martinez	2000	16.4	7.1	9.5	11.1
8	Albert Pujols	2006	23.2	12.6	9.2	10.9
9	Alex Rodriguez	2007	25.3	16.3	8.9	10.8
10	Miguel Tejada	2002	26.5	19.0	8.5	10.8
11	Albert Pujols	2009	25.2	14.8	8.7	10.6
12	Barry Bonds	2003	21.2	11.4	9.0	10.6
13	Scott Rolen	2004	23.0	13.8	8.7	10.5
14	Manny Ramirez	2008	24.4	15.2	8.3	10.3
15	Mike Trout	2014	24.4	15.7	8.3	10.2
16	Eric Chavez	2001	21.7	13.3	8.4	10.2
17	Alex Rodriguez	2005	25.5	17.2	8.2	10.2
18	Carlos Beltran	2006	23.3	14.6	8.3	10.1
19	Curt Schilling	2001	19.2	12.4	8.0	10.0
20	Jake Arrieta	2015	17.7	10.8	8.2	10.0
21	Bret Boone	2001	24.1	16.8	7.9	10.0
22	J.D. Drew	2004	23.8	14.9	8.0	9.9
23	David Ortiz	2005	20.2	11.7	7.8	9.9
24	Bryce Harper	2015	26.3	17.5	7.7	9.8
25	Adrian Beltre	2004	24.7	16.3	7.8	9.8
26	Dontrelle Willis	2005	18.5	11.7	8.0	9.8
27	Barry Bonds	2000	24.0	15.1	7.9	9.8
28	Randy Johnson	2001	19.0	12.5	7.7	9.8
29	Mike Trout	2015	23.8	15.7	7.8	9.7
30	Cliff Lee	2008	15.7	8.1	7.9	9.5
31	Jason Giambi	2001	21.5	12.7	7.7	9.5
32	Matt Kemp	2011	26.7	18.7	7.2	9.4
33	Alex Bregman	2019	23.1	15.5	7.5	9.4
34	Ronald Acuna	2019	24.0	15.9	7.4	9.4
35	Mookie Betts	2018	22.4	14.2	7.6	9.4
36	C.C. Sabathia	2008	17.9	11.1	7.5	9.4
37	Clayton Kershaw	2014	15.2	8.2	7.8	9.3
38	Pedro Martinez	2002	14.8	7.5	7.6	9.2
39	Matt Carpenter	2015	22.7	14.8	7.4	9.2
40	Cody Bellinger	2019	24.6	16.5	7.0	9.1
41	Johan Santana	2004	15.3	8.1	7.4	9.0
42	David Ortiz	2006	19.1	11.4	7.0	9.0
43	Albert Pujols	2003	23.2	14.8	7.2	9.0
44	Josh Donaldson	2015	24.2	17.0	7.0	9.0
45	Mike Trout	2016	23.9	16.7	7.0	9.0
46	Marcus Giles	2003	21.8	14.8	7.2	9.0
47	Justin Verlander	2011	16.6	9.8	7.1	8.9
48	Vladimir Guerrero Sr.	2002	26.3	18.2	6.7	8.9
49	Chris Carpenter	2005	17.2	11.1	7.1	8.9
50	Jason Giambi	2000	20.1	11.8	7.2	8.9
51	Brandon Webb	2008	19.1	13.5	6.8	8.8
52	Albert Pujols	2004	21.9	13.4	7.1	8.8
53	Bret Boone	2003	23.9	17.7	6.8	8.8
54	Ryan J. Braun	2011	24.3	16.7	6.8	8.8
55	Jeff Kent	2002	23.9	17.3	6.8	8.8
56	Justin Verlander	2019	15.4	8.7	7.1	8.8
57	Max Scherzer	2018	16.6	10.7	7.0	8.8
58	Jason Giambi	2002	20.3	12.5	6.9	8.8
59	Mike Cameron	2001	21.8	14.8	6.9	8.7
60	Alex Bregman	2018	24.3	17.4	6.7	8.7
61	Jose Bautista	2011	23.3	16.0	6.7	8.6
62	Adam Wainwright	2009	17.7	12.1	6.7	8.6
63	Anthony Rizzo	2015	22.2	13.9	6.8	8.6
64	Chase Utley	2009	23.1	16.4	6.7	8.5
65	Jim Edmonds	2005	21.9	14.6	6.8	8.5
66	George Springer	2019	19.4	12.2	6.9	8.5
67	Jeff Bagwell	2001	22.4	14.0	6.7	8.5
68	Mookie Betts	2016	26.2	19.2	6.3	8.5
69	Chris Davis	2013	20.7	13.0	6.8	8.4
70	Mike Trout	2012	22.6	15.6	6.6	8.4
71	Mark Prior	2003	15.8	9.9	6.8	8.4
72	Curt Schilling	2002	18.1	13.1	6.4	8.4
73	Roy Halladay	2003	17.7	11.6	6.4	8.4
74	Derek Jeter	2006	22.7	17.0	6.5	8.4
75	Jacoby Ellsbury	2011	25.1	18.6	6.2	8.3
76	Gary Sheffield	2003	24.2	16.6	6.3	8.3
77	Jim Edmonds	2001	22.3	15.5	6.4	8.3
78	Mookie Betts	2017	25.5	18.4	6.2	8.3
79	Buster Posey	2012	19.3	12.6	6.7	8.3
80	Jeff Kent	2000	22.6	16.4	6.4	8.3
81	Zack Greinke	2015	15.2	9.6	6.7	8.3
82	Yoenis Cespedes	2012	19.8	12.9	6.6	8.2
83	Andrew McCutchen	2015	22.3	15.2	6.4	8.2
84	J.D. Martinez	2018	19.4	12.6	6.3	8.2
85	Matt Carpenter	2013	23.4	17.0	6.3	8.2
86	Kris Bryant	2015	23.0	16.0	6.3	8.2
87	Christian Yelich	2019	21.3	14.0	6.4	8.2
88	Johnny Cueto	2016	14.6	9.2	6.7	8.2
89	Vladimir Guerrero Sr.	2007	22.6	15.6	6.2	8.2
90	DJ LeMahieu	2019	21.4	15.0	6.4	8.2
91	Randy Johnson	2000	18.5	13.4	6.2	8.2
92	Luis Gonzalez	2001	26.4	19.1	5.9	8.2
93	Robinson Cano	2012	23.5	17.8	6.1	8.2
94	Zack Greinke	2009	16.1	10.0	6.4	8.2
95	Adrian Beltre	2016	21.9	15.2	6.3	8.2
96	Miguel Cabrera	2013	21.5	15.0	6.4	8.1
97	Andruw Jones	2005	24.8	18.1	6.1	8.1
98	Ichiro Suzuki	2001	25.0	18.0	5.9	8.1
99	Alex Rodriguez	2001	22.8	17.6	6.1	8.1
100	Jim Edmonds	2000	21.4	14.4	6.4	8.1
101	Gerrit Cole	2019	14.2	8.1	6.5	8.1
102	Shin-Soo Choo	2013	23.8	17.0	6.1	8.1
103	Pedro Martinez	2003	13.7	7.3	6.6	8.1
104	Jason Schmidt	2003	14.1	8.5	6.6	8.1
105	Miguel Cabrera	2011	22.3	14.9	6.3	8.1
106	Tim Lincecum	2008	15.6	10.1	6.4	8.1
107	Jayson Werth	2010	23.9	16.6	6.1	8.1
108	Clayton Kershaw	2011	16.8	11.5	6.3	8.1
109	Adrian Beltre	2012	20.6	14.2	6.3	8.1
110	Carlos Beltran	2008	24.5	17.9	6.1	8.1
111	Johan Santana	2006	15.9	9.9	6.3	8.0
112	Jose Altuve	2017	21.9	16.0	6.2	8.0
113	Cliff Lee	2011	17.3	12.1	6.2	8.0
114	Max Scherzer	2013	14.1	7.9	6.5	8.0
115	Matt Holliday	2007	26.0	18.9	5.9	8.0
116	Chase Utley	2005	21.5	15.2	6.3	8.0
117	Mike Trout	2019	19.9	13.6	6.3	8.0
118	Mike Piazza	2000	17.9	11.8	6.5	8.0
119	Chipper Jones	2002	23.6	16.4	6.0	8.0

That works out to about six 8.0 pWORL performances per season which is certainly elite company.

Article last updated: December 5, 2019

2020 Hall of Fame Ballot Series

Home List of Articles