Oct 14, 2026 · 31 min
Derrick Lee revisits baseball’s roads not taken
Derrek Lee on Losing MVP to Pujols, Maddux's Pranks & How Dusty Changed Everything
Lee’s career reflection connects championship memories and MVP frustration to the mentors, injuries, economics, and changing methods that shaped his baseball life.
- 1Lee credits Dusty Baker with unlocking his breakout 2005 season and still argues he deserved the MVP over Albert Pujols.
- 2His path ran from baseball in Japan and a rejected basketball scholarship to championships with Miami and Chicago.
- 3Injuries, playoff disappointments, trades, and family priorities ultimately outweighed the appeal of extending his playing career.
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Lee explains why he believes his outstanding 2005 season merited the MVP over Albert Pujols.
The brief
Derrick Lee traces his baseball education from childhood in Japan to turning down a basketball scholarship, then entering the majors at 18 alongside Tony Gwynn and Rickey Henderson.
After winning the 2003 World Series with Miami, Lee helped reach Chicago and found a career-changing environment: Dusty Baker’s guidance, elite teammates, and Greg Maddux’s pranks.
Lee makes the episode’s central case about 2005: Baker changed his approach, the season became a personal breakthrough, and he believes the MVP should have gone to him rather than Albert Pujols.
He also explains how film study and preparation shaped his hitting, before a wrist injury in a collision with Rafael Furcal erased most of his 2006 season.
Lee’s reflections widen into baseball’s steroid era, the limits of early analytics, the Cubs’ playoff failures, and the injuries and family priorities that ended his career.