How Unwritten Clubhouse Rules Caused a Fight Between Jimmy Rollins and Cliff Lee

According to Philadelphia Phillies franchise icon Jimmy Rollins, he and Cliff Lee nearly got into a physical alteration over country music being played in the clubhouse.

Author:
Leo Morgenstern
Sep 2, 2022 1:00 PM EDT

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Philadelphia Phillies

Cliff Lee didn't have the best off-field reputation during his time with the Philadelphia Phillies. While his performance on the mound spoke for itself (2.94 ERA in 118 starts), there was often gossip floating around about his unpleasant attitude in the clubhouse.

Those rumors were exacerbated in 2014, when Lee was dealing with serious injury concerns and questions about his big league future began to arise.

Although rumors ran rampant, few reports ever came out of the Phillies' clubhouse to corroborate the gossip—aside from one odd video of Lee farting during an interview that rubbed some the wrong way.

Eight years later, however, and one juicy anecdote has finally been revealed. It's a big one too, because it comes from none other than Jimmy Rollins himself, the de facto captain of the 2007-2011 glory years.

Starting pitcher Cliff Lee congratulates shortstop Jimmy Rollins as he returns to the dugout.
© Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

On a recent episode of his new podcast, "Unwritten: Behind Baseball's Secret Rules" from Audacy's 2400Sports, Rollins went into detail about a near-physical altercation he got into with Lee. It took place in late 2014, as the Phillies were wrapping up their second straight losing season.

"My last year in Philadelphia, [I] got into it with Cliff Lee over music," he began.

Music selection doesn't seem like an issue that should have two grown men at each other's throats, yet it turns out tunes played quite an important role in the Phillies' clubhouse.

For Rollins, music was a significant part of team culture, and it served a key role in getting players ready for the game ahead.

As he explained, "We could have some hip hop, some reggaeton, some rock, you could have some upbeat country but it can’t be the slow—that does not make a clubhouse at all."

It seems like a pretty straightforward concept. Athletes use music to pump themselves up. Mellow tunes have their place, but that place is not an MLB clubhouse on game day.

So when Rollins showed up to work one day and heard a slow country song coming from the clubhouse speakers, it's no surprise he was miffed. Rollins felt as if Lee had chosen the "slowest country music he could find" on purpose, knowing others would be displeased.

Whether that was Lee's intention or not, it speaks to his character that Rollins made such an assumption.

Turning off the country music, Rollins says he playfully chided Lee, asking "Man, how are you gonna decide the music? You’re on the injured list." While the shortstop claims he was joking, he still made a pretty good point. The music in the clubhouse sets the tone for the upcoming game. If you aren't going to be playing, you don't have much right to be the DJ.

Unfortunately, Lee took the rebuke rather harshly. The following day, he put on the exact same slow country music to further provoke Rollins. This time, in the shortstop's retelling, he entered the clubhouse, turned off Lee's music, and the next thing he knew the 6'3" left-hander was yelling right at him.

Cliff Lee and Jimmy Rollins in April 2014, before the altercation went down.
© Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

While the two were ultimately able to resolve the situation peacefully, Rollins was unsure where it was heading at the time. He describes slowly putting on his shoes, because he was wearing flip-flops, and, well, "you can't do anything in flip-flops."

In Rollins' mind, Lee had much less to lose from an outbreak of fisticuffs. The star pitcher was making $25 million that year, and still had tens of millions guaranteed on his contract. Rollins, meanwhile, had an $11 million option for the following season that would only vest if he stayed healthy.

"I’m coming up on an option," he explained. "If I break my hand, it’s a wrap." Philadelphia was already out of playoff contention by that point, so he was not too worried about that aspect of it. He still had his own future to look out for, however, and rightfully so.

Despite his hesitations, Rollins eventually turned to face Lee, who continued to bark at him. He was preparing for a real fight, thinking to himself, "Look I’ve sparred before, [but] I’m like this is a totally different weight class so I’m going to have to try to get you down as soon as possible... anything can happen."

Thankfully, as it turns out, Lee wasn't looking for a fist fight—just a target for his frustrations. He explained to Rollins how angry he was over their disagreement from the day before. In truth, he was probably more upset about his own injuries than anything else, but he was taking it out on his teammates.

Rollins laid down the law, repeating to Lee why injured players don't get to pick the music. The same rules would apply to himself, he clarified, were he on the IL.

After that, Rollins decided to brush the whole thing off. The situation wasn't worth any more argumentation. He had his own career to worry about, and Lee, he knew, would be just fine with his multi-millions in the bank and more on the way.

Cliff Lee and Jimmy Rollins were teammates for parts of five seasons. They won two NL East titles together and one NL pennant.
© Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

If the shortstop is still harboring any resentment, he did an excellent job hiding it. "It was what it was," Rollins said. "Friction happens." He was not telling this story to reignite a beef with an old teammate, but to provide insight about the unwritten rules of a major league clubhouse.

Still, with Rollins' telling of this story, the rumors about Lee's sour attitude finally have some real evidence behind them. It's hard to imagine this was an isolated incident either, since Rollins immediately knew Lee was trying to provoke him.

The aging pitcher was clearly going through a tough time in 2014, but there is no good excuse for treating one's teammates in such an antagonistic manner.

While there is room for debate about what kind of music to play in the clubhouse and who should get to pick the tunes, there should be no room for verbally assaulting one's co-workers, in baseball or any other line of work. That shouldn't have to be an unwritten rule, either.

You can listen to Jimmy Rollins tell the full story on his podcast "Unwritten: Behind Baseball's Secret Rules" from Audacy's 2400Sports.