Cliff Lee’s return to the Phillies this offseason has given the team one of MLB’s most formidable pitching staffs -- Sports Illustrated this week calls it one of the "best rotations ever." But it also provided an instant spark for the team’s ticket and merchandise sales and created a buzz among the club’s sponsors. In sales of name and number T-shirts, Lee already has surpassed 2B Chase Utley and P Roy Halladay to become the team’s top seller. And the star pitcher’s presence has boosted sales of Phillies gear as a whole, with merchandise sales up 126% in February, normally a slow month for the team. The Phillies emerged as a surprise winner in the Lee race in December, convincing him to return for a second tour of duty in Philadelphia in lieu of bigger offers from the Yankees and Rangers. The club’s sponsors were particularly pleased with the signing, providing immediate feedback when the initial reports emerged late on Dec. 13. "My phone almost melted with the text messages I was getting from sponsors," said Phillies Senior VP/Marketing & Advertising Sales Dave Buck. "They were all texting saying, 'Is this true, is this really true? This is great!' So the excitement level with those guys has been great." The Phillies enter this season with 109 sponsors, 11 of which are new this year, including a recent deal with Re/Max that includes signage on the scoreboard at Citizens Bank Park.
PACKING THE HOUSE: Lee is scheduled to start Saturday's home game against the Astros, and his presence has given the Phillies a boost at the gate, not that they were struggling there. The team will begin this season riding a 123-game home sellout streak that shows no signs of ending. While the Phillies were likely to continue their success at the box office without the star pitcher, Lee's addition certainly jumpstarted sales, Buck said. "What Cliff's return has done is accelerated the pace," he said. "I think we would have done it anyway, but every report we get, we're a month ahead of where we were this time last year." The Phillies also have set and re-set attendance records at their Spring Training home in Clearwater, Fla., breaking their single-game record at Bright House Networks Field on three separate occasions in recent weeks. "There's an excitement," Buck said. "It's been around for a couple years, but it's definitely a little notch up right now."
