Lee Says 'Fools' Won't Affect Free Agency Decision
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The wife of ace left-hander Cliff Lee was among family members of Texas Rangers players subjected to obscenities and taunts during the AL championship series at Yankee Stadium. She said fans even were spitting at them from a higher section.
"I brush that off as fans being fans. You can't control 50,000 people and what they're going to do," Lee said Tuesday, the day before pitching Game 1 of the World Series for Texas. "There were some people that were spitting off the balcony on the family section and things like that, and that's kind of weak, but what can you do?"
The Yankees are expected to be one of the bidders for Lee when he is eligible to be a free agent after the World Series.
When asked, Lee said what happened last week during the ALCS wouldn't have any impact on his offseason decision.
"No, I don't know the guy that did it. It could be anyone. Who knows? Who cares?," Lee said. "They're at home right now."
Lee's wife, Kristen, was sitting with other Rangers family and friends in the visiting family section at Yankee Stadium during the playoffs.
"Some people get a little alcohol in them and act inappropriate," Cliff Lee said. "There's so many people there you can't control them all. I know it's been made into a big deal, but that's really all it is, just two or three or four people just acting like fools, and 50,000, you can't group them all together. But there's always going to be a couple goofballs in the crowd that think they have a right to do that stuff."
Lee, acquired by Texas from Seattle on July 9, is getting ready to start Game 1 of the World Series for the second year in a row. Last year it was for Philadelphia, which traded him to the Mariners the same day the Phillies acquired Roy Halladay. He had been with Cleveland before that.
This time, Lee will get to pick where he plays.
"He has a chance to win here for a long time," Rangers teammate Jeff Francoeur said Tuesday. "At the end of the day, I think he's going to be between Texas and the Yankees. He'll wind up in one of those places."
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
