Lee at home in Benton
Major League pitcher enjoys serenity of Arkansas outdoors
Martin Couch Sports editor

MLB PITCHER PHIL HOBBY PHOTO Benton's own Cliff Lee pitches for the Cleveland Indians of the American League.

Back in the 1990s Benton Panthers baseball fans had an idea that Cliff Lee would be a Major League great.

Turns out they were right.

"Growing up, he was a special athlete," said Panthers baseball coach Mark Balisterri. "He was a typical kid in school and he pitched in six or seven games. He was the third hole hitter for us and sometimes started in center field, but when he started pitching he had no control. In his senior year, he threw a couple of no-hitters before he got hurt. It was my third year to be a head coach here and we made it to the state tournament for the first time in school history."

Lee and teammate Rusty Davis were the only two Panthers to sign Division I scholarships that season.

"Cliff was one of the forefathers of Benton High School baseball over the last 12 years," Balisterri said. "When he was a senior, my principal was getting so many calls from Major League scouts that we had a message machine for them put in the coach's office say- ing when he was scheduled to pitch. Every time he'd pitch there would be 25 or 30 scouts in the stands watching him."

The main reason the scouts were watching was Lee happened to be a southpaw pitcher who threw 91-miles per hour with ease.

"He had a nasty curveball and the upside was that he brought attention to Arkansas baseball," Balisterri said. "Cliff kick-started Benton baseball and still today he comes out when he's' in the off-season and throws with the team."

Lee, who pitches for the Cleveland Indians, returned to Arkansas to be with his family and enjoy some deer hunting and fishing with his friends after his Major League Baseball season ended in October.

"I love to hunt and fish and Arkansas is a good place for that," Lee said. "Obviously it's not the best time of the year to fish, but we've got some land and I plan to do some deer and duck hunting."

Lee's family lives in Benton.

"I try to stay in shape and spend time with my family when I'm between seasons," he said. "Benton is all I know. I've traveled around to the bigger cities, but I'm not a city-boy. I enjoy the slow pace of life in Benton. I mean it has the best of both worlds - you're five minutes from the deer woods and five minutes from the largest city in Arkansas.

"It's a great place to grow up," Lee continued. "I don't mind going out to the baseball field and working with my old team. I think that comes with the territory. I have no problem talking to them about baseball. I play baseball and hunt a little bit. I try to help people out as much as I can. My family has supported me all the way through my career and when I'm not at the field, I'm with them."