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Baseball Writers honor ace as Man of the Year
By Sheldon Ocker
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 09:50 p.m. EST, Nov 22, 2008
The honors continue to roll in for Indians ace Cliff Lee.
After he wrapped up the 2008 American League Cy Young Award, plus awards from the Sporting News as the league's top pitcher and Comeback Player of the Year, the Cleveland chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America announced that Lee has been unanimously selected as the Tribe's Man of the Year.
The local writers' other honoree this year is former bullpen coach Luis Isaac, selected as the Steve Olin Good Guy.
Lee posted a 22-3 record and 2.54 ERA to lead the league in both categories. He also compiled a career high in innings pitched (2231/3), walked only 34 and struck out 170.
He became a singular figure in Indians franchise history this year by becoming the first pitcher to start an All-Star Game and winning 20 games for the first time since 1974, when Gaylord Perry did it.
In addition, Lee posted the third best winning percentage (.880) in major-league history, behind Ron Guidry (.893 in 1978) and Lefty Grove (.886 in 1931).
Lee's achievements were all the more remarkable in that he suffered through the worst season of his career in 2007.
A spring training injury kept him off the mound for the first month of the season, and he never did get untracked and was eventually sent to Triple-A Buffalo. When he returned in September, Lee was not given back his job in the rotation. Instead, he sat in the bullpen, making only four appearances the rest of the season.
Only one other player was nominated for this year's Man of the Year Award: center fielder Grady Sizemore, who achieved a rare feat by hitting more than 30 home runs and stealing more than 30 bases in the same season. Sizemore, the Tribe's leadoff batter, also scored 101 runs.
Isaac, 62, spent 44 years in the Tribe organization as a player, scout, minor-league coach and manager and finally as bullpen coach with the big-league club before being fired after the season.
In explaining why Isaac was let go, manager Eric Wedge said, ''We needed to change the dynamic.'' Chuck Hernandez, former pitching coach of the Detroit Tigers, was named to replace Isaac last week.
Isaac epitomized the spirit of the Good Guy Award for his willingness to cooperate with the media and answer often arcane baseball questions.
For years, Isaac was known as a coach able to quietly turn around pitchers' fortunes. He has been offered another job in the Indians' organization.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
The honors continue to roll in for Indians ace Cliff Lee.
After he wrapped up the 2008 American League Cy Young Award, plus awards from the Sporting News as the league's top pitcher and Comeback Player of the Year, the Cleveland chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America announced that Lee has been unanimously selected as the Tribe's Man of the Year.
The local writers' other honoree this year is former bullpen coach Luis Isaac, selected as the Steve Olin Good Guy.
Lee posted a 22-3 record and 2.54 ERA to lead the league in both categories. He also compiled a career high in innings pitched (2231/3), walked only 34 and struck out 170.
He became a singular figure in Indians franchise history this year by becoming the first pitcher to start an All-Star Game and winning 20 games for the first time since 1974, when Gaylord Perry did it.
In addition, Lee posted the third best winning percentage (.880) in major-league history, behind Ron Guidry (.893 in 1978) and Lefty Grove (.886 in 1931).
Lee's achievements were all the more remarkable in that he suffered through the worst season of his career in 2007.
A spring training injury kept him off the mound for the first month of the season, and he never did get untracked and was eventually sent to Triple-A Buffalo. When he returned in September, Lee was not given back his job in the rotation. Instead, he sat in the bullpen, making only four appearances the rest of the season.
Only one other player was nominated for this year's Man of the Year Award: center fielder Grady Sizemore, who achieved a rare feat by hitting more than 30 home runs and stealing more than 30 bases in the same season. Sizemore, the Tribe's leadoff batter, also scored 101 runs.
Isaac, 62, spent 44 years in the Tribe organization as a player, scout, minor-league coach and manager and finally as bullpen coach with the big-league club before being fired after the season.
In explaining why Isaac was let go, manager Eric Wedge said, ''We needed to change the dynamic.'' Chuck Hernandez, former pitching coach of the Detroit Tigers, was named to replace Isaac last week.
Isaac epitomized the spirit of the Good Guy Award for his willingness to cooperate with the media and answer often arcane baseball questions.
For years, Isaac was known as a coach able to quietly turn around pitchers' fortunes. He has been offered another job in the Indians' organization.
Sheldon Ocker can be reached at socker@thebeaconjournal.com.
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