"It's just a good fit for our family," Kristen Lee said.
If you grew up here, if you remember detractors calling it "Philthy-delphia" for good reason, that was the most astonishing part of this whole astonishing story. Even now, natives tend to look at the place and see what's wrong.
"We who live here sell the assets of this city short," as Phillies president Dave Montgomery, a lifer and civic booster, put it.
Cliff and Kristen Lee, Arkansas natives whose professional journey took them through Cleveland and Seattle and the Dallas metroplex and assorted spring-training sites, were thrilled by the prospect of getting back here.
Cliff Lee was traded three times - from Cleveland to Philadelphia, from Philly to Seattle, and finally on to the Texas Rangers - in 16 months.
"We were like, 'OK, it's a new adventure, let's go,' " Kristen Lee said. "Well, not so much when we got traded from Philly. There were some tears over that for me."
A week ago, finally free to pick their own home, the Lees thought they were choosing between the New York Yankees and the Rangers. On Friday night, Lee's agent informed the couple of a new offer from the Phillies. On Saturday morning, while Cliff was watching TV with the kids, Kristen sat in the kitchen and made a list of pluses and minuses for each city.
"I wrote it all down," Kristen Lee said.
There were obviously baseball considerations. Lee prefers the National League, where he gets to hit as well as pitch to other pitchers. No designated hitter to deal with. There was the Phillies' status as a contending team, one that he watched improve after he was traded away last year. There was the chance to be part of this remarkable rotation.
And there were things about the fans, about the atmosphere in Citizens Bank Park.
