LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — (Eds. note: The video attached is from May 2017.)
According to the Major League Baseball website, former Arkansas pitcher Cliff Lee is on the 2020 ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
With Monday’s release of a 2020 ballot another class will soon be confirmed, congratulated and cheerfully consigned to Cooperstown.
Lee, 41, is on the ballot for the first time, according to Whole Hog Sports. He went to Benton High School in Benton, Ark, where he was later went on to play for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
He retired in 2014 after a 13-year MLB career in which he pitched for four franchises, most notably the Cleveland Indians from 2002-09 and the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009 and from 2011-14.
Lee was the 2008 AL Cy Young winner, and he had a 118 career ERA+ as well as an impressive postseason career, with a 2.52 ERA in 11 starts.
Players must appear on 75 percent of submitted ballots to be ushered into the hallowed Hall in the 2020 induction ceremony on July 26 in Cooperstown. Last year, 425 ballots were submitted, and players needed 319 for induction. Players are eligible for up to 10 years on the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) ballot.
Eligible voters will submit their ballots by year’s end, and the 2020 class will be announced Tuesday, Jan. 21, on MLB Network.