Phillies: Jimmy Rollins shares how he nearly came to blows with Cliff Lee in 2014

Former Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins had a very good career. He spent parts of 17 years in the major leagues and he was an All-Star three times, a four-time Gold Glove winner, and won the NL MVP Award in 2007.

In 2014, Rollins was in his 15th season with the club and was teammates with a litany of veterans. In fact, the Phillies had both the second-oldest offense and second-oldest pitching staff in the major leagues that year.

One of those other veterans was left-handed starter Cliff Lee. Lee had spent parts of 13 seasons in the majors and was a four-time All-Star who was in the top seven in Cy Young Award voting in his league five times, including winning the AL Cy Young Award with Cleveland in 2008.

According to Jimmy Rollins on Audacy’s 2400Sports’ Unwritten: Behind Baseball’s Secret Rules podcast, he and Lee nearly came to blows during the 2014 season. What was it over? Music in the clubhouse.

Phillies: Jimmy Rollins nearly fought Cliff Lee in 2014

“My last year in Philadelphia, (I) got into it with Cliff Lee over music,” said Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins on the podcast (at about 23:55 below).

Lee, who is from Arkansas, wanted to play slow country music and, as Rollins described, Lee was playing it for everyone, breaking a few unwritten rules of an MLB clubhouse.

“We come in and (you’re) playing some slow country music when (you’re) by yourself, that’s fine. But when we all get in there, our culture, we could have some hip hop, some reggaeton, some rock, you could have some upbeat country but it can’t be the slow (music)– that does not make a clubhouse at all. He purposely put on the slowest country music he could find knowing that I was gonna come in like ‘woah, we don’t go play baseball with that.'”

Lee had an elbow injury at the time so he was breaking another unwritten rule of the clubhouse: Players on the injured list don’t play the music. It’s the players that will be playing in the game (or could play in the game).

“And I was like ‘Man, how are you gonna decide the music,” Rollins said. “You’re on the (then-named disabled) list.’ Just joking, just like whatever. He took it personally and the next day, he does it again … I walk in and I’m just like ‘Here we go with this dang music again,’ just really not even thinking about it. So sure enough, I cut it off and Cliff comes running over and he’s barking. And this is towards the end of the year. You know there are times – at the moment I’m thinking ‘OK he’s going off, I have on flip flops,” so I don’t say anything, my back’s to him, I just gently and slowly put my shoes on ‘cause you can’t do anything in flip flops.”

Rollins then described how he went through a bit of a dilemma. He, himself, immediately thought of how he had a contract option at the end of the year

“He comes over and he’s barking and he’s going off. The first thing that goes in my mind is ‘if I finish the season on the DL, that’s 11 million dollars down the drain.’ I have to finish healthy. They said ‘if you finish healthy, your option’s automatic.’ I was coming up on my option, so that’s the first thing going through my mind.It’s like man, you’re making $33 million and you got (two) years left. I’m coming up on an option. If I break my hand, it’s a wrap … This is 2014. We’re out of it. It’s like whatever at the same time. So I just put on my shoes and I stand up and I’m like ‘OK, now I’m ready.’ You’re talking and barking but I’m not dumb enough to sit there and do something, ‘cause anything could happen.”

Rollins then revealed how it ended.

“Long story short, I walk over to his locker and he still keeps barking,” Rollins said. “I was like ‘Talk. What happened?’ And he talked and he said ‘Well you said this yesterday.’ And in my mind I’m like ‘you really took that to heart? You’re injured. You don’t have any authority over the radio.’ Period. Everyone does except for the guys that are injured. If I’m injured and I walk in and y’all playing country and I’m not playing? There’s nothing I can do.”

Lee was known to be a bit prickly with his temper. When he was with Cleveland, he got in multiple public arguments with his catchers, hit batters in the head purposefully, and even fired his glove into the stands when walking back to the dugout after being relieved during a bad outing.

Rollins, on the other hand, was always known for his jovial nature. After the 2014 season, the Phillies did pick up his option but they traded him to the Dodgers. Since Rollins had 10-and-5 rights, he had to approve of the trade.

So that ended up being one of the last things that Rollins experienced as a Phillie and Lee in his MLB career. Quite a way to go out for both of them.