Cliff Lee's Phillies Choice Voted 'Inspiring'

The majority of 'TheStreet' readers were glad to see Cliff Lee settle for the Philadelphia Phillies' $120 million salary over the Yankees $148 million offer.
By Theresa McCabe ,

NEW YORK (

TheStreet

) -- Cliff Lee has opted for a five-year, $120 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies over a possible $148 million six-year deal with the New York Yankees.

While Lee's new salary will earn him more in the next five years than most will ever see in their lives, most readers of

TheStreet

were glad to see him

settle

for less to follow his heart.

As of late Friday, about 90% of the readers that took our poll felt that Lee's choice to play for the Phillies is "inspiring" because it proves that it's not all about the money for the pro pitcher. Less than 10% of voters think it was a foolish decision on his part to turn down more than $25 million in additional salary.

While the Yankees often operate under the assumption that money rules all, Lee could not be swayed. When the Yanks put a $132 million, six-year contract with a $16 million player option on the table, Lee refused.

The pitcher ended up turning down higher offers from the Texas Rangers and the Yankees to return to Philadelphia after he and his family came to love the area in 2009.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel admitted that he was worried he wouldn't be able to secure Lee.

"When the money started getting big with the Yankees and Texas, I didn't know that we had a shot or not," Manuel said in an interview on Philadelphia radio station WIP.

Lee, 32, is the third Major League free agent to sign a contract of more than $100 million this offseason. The agreement is the third-largest guarantee for a pitcher, behind CC Sabathia's $161 million deal with the Yankees and Barry Zito's $126 million contract with the San Francisco Giants.

-- Written by Theresa McCabe in Boston.

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Disclosure: TheStreet's editorial policy prohibits staff editors and reporters from holding positions in any individual stocks.

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