Cy Young winner Lee passes on WBC

Jan 8, 2009 - 7:16 PM CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner will not be representing the United States in the World Baseball Classic.

According to numerous reports, Cleveland Indians lefthander Cliff Lee on Thursday declined an invitation to pitch for Team USA, citing his heavy workload last season and his desire not to alter his training regime for the upcoming season.

"Cliff gave it a lot of thought," Lee's agent, Darek Braunecker told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "But he's coming off the biggest workload of his career. He wanted to stay on track. If, as anticipated, the Indians are a contender this year, he could pitch even more innings."

The Indians could not be reached for comment.

Lee, 30, pitched a career-high 223 1/3 innings for the Indians last season, finishing with a league-best 22-3 record and 2.54 ERA.

Team USA will begin the WBC on March 7 against Canada in Toronto.