Cliff Lee deciding to sign with the Phillies late Monday night came as a surprise to much of the baseball world. Many expected him to join the Yankees, who offered him a six-year, $132 million contract. So why didn’t he go to New York? According to Phillies beat writer Randy Miller, it was in large part because Lee’s wife, Kristen, doesn’t like the Big Apple (via The 700 Level):
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.
The “incident” referenced occurred during the postseason, when Yankees fans allegedly were spitting on Lee’s wife while the Rangers were playing in New York. That, combined with the fact the Phillies fans showed overwhelming support for Lee his first time around with Philly, seems to have helped sway Cliff to re-join the Fightins.