Veteran, skillful, well-traveled, left-handed Cliff Lee (Benton, Arkansas Razorbacks) has spent several years residing in Arkansas while earning his considerable money with the National League’s Philadelphia Phillies. He was at least that tough while pitching for Cleveland, Seattle and Texas in the American League.
Lee joined Bryant’s Travis Wood, a left-hander for the Chicago Cubs, on the National League All-Star team last week. North Little Rock’s A.J. Burnett did not make the All-Star Game, and the misfortunes for Burnett (4-7) continued Saturday when he took the defeat for the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 5-4 loss to Cincinnati Saturday.
Still, it’s not often you can find three Arkansas pitchers in the big leagues, all playing regularly at midseason, with Wood’s 2.69 ERA, Lee’s 2.86 and A. J. Burnett’s 3.05.
Wood has recorded 17 quality starts, meaning he has pitched at least six innings and yielded three or fewer runs. Wood started 2012 at Class AAA Iowa and had to be called up twice before he stayed at Chicago for good.
Lee possibly will play the full season in Philadelphia, or he might be traded next month (or next week). If any sentiment is involved in the transaction, staying in Philadelphia might appeal to him. He appears to enjoy both the city and his teammates.
In addition to his superb pitching, he is sometimes an exceptional hitter, as pitchers go.
Some 30 years ago, the late Elwin Charles “Preacher” Roe was voted to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
Contacted, he said he appreciated the honor and looked forward to the Hall of Fame banquet, but his store was very busy. I remember him saying, “Shopping time, you understand.”
Orville Henry, who ran the Arkansas Gazette sports department at that time, called me over and sent me to West Plains, Mo., to interview Roe. The best stuff, obviously, was generated by Roe’s opinions of his former Dodgers teammates. No problems there.
I remember in his store he went over to a rack of paperback books. “Not much here,” he told a startled couple. “Just love and war.”
In a 12-year baseball career, he went 127-84 (.602). He shut out Brooklyn in two World Series: Yankees vs. Dodgers, 1949; Dodgers vs. Yankees, 1952; Yankees vs. Dodgers, 1953. He shut out the Dodgers twice, 1-0 and 1-0, and they beat him once, 1-0. He twice led the National League in percentage with .714 in 1949, and .880 (22-3, 1951).
I asked him his impressions of various sportswriters and such. He was much more familiar with veteran reporters, and then it dawned on me that young Roger Kahn might shake something loose. “What do you think of Roger Kahn?,” I asked.
“Kahn. … Oh yeah, he was young,” Roe said. “I remember him.”
A couple of years later, Roger Kahn published The Boys of Summer.
Sports, Pages 14 on 07/23/2013