Cy Young Comes To Arkansas!

Cliff Lee, from Benton Arkansas and former pitcher for the Arkansas Razorbacks, has been named American League Cy Young Award winner by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Cliff led the AL in wins with a 22-3 record and in ERA with a 2.54 mark and posted the third-highest winning percentage (.880) for a 20-game winner in baseball history.

He was banished to the Minor Leagues and left off the Indians' playoff roster just last year, after he was 5-8 with a 6.29 ERA.

In Spring Training of this year, Lee had to fight for a spot on the Cleveland's roster. He earned it and was the team's fifth starter going into the season, which he began 6-0 with a 0.81 ERA in his first six starts and never looked back.

Lee won a career-high 11 straight decisions from July 11 to Sept. 12 and was the AL Pitcher of the Month in April and August, and the AL's starter in the July 15 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium.

He was just the seventh pitcher since 1920 to win 22 of his first 25 decisions, according to STATS LLC.

He finished second in the AL in complete games (four), ninth in strikeouts (170), second in innings pitched (223 1/3), 13th in opponents' batting average (.253), first in homers allowed per nine innings (0.48), second in baserunners per nine innings (10.2) and third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.38).

Shortly after the season ended, Lee was the runaway choice for AL Comeback Player of the Year by MLB.com, The Sporting News and the MLB Players' Association. The MLBPA, The Sporting News and the Internet Baseball Awards also named him the AL's top pitcher.