Jon Lester is a left-handed starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. He was born in Tacoma, Washington, January 7, 1984. A graduate of that city’s Bellarmine Prepatory High School, the pitcher earned three MVP honors, three All-Area selections and named 2000 Gatorade State Player of the Year for Washington state.
Major League Baseball Aspirations
At age 18, Lester was drafted by the Red Sox in round two of the 2002 amateur baseball draft. The southpaw is a four-pitch pitcher, with a changeup, curveball, along with two-seam and four-seam fastballs that range 92-97 mph.
Minor League Success
After spending his first three years in the lower minors (2002-2004), Lester developed into a top prospect and truly turned heads in 2005 while with the AA-Portland Seadogs, as he compiled a league-leading 163 K’s in a career-high 148 innings of work, to go with a 2.61 ERA, and a 11-6 record in 26 starts. He earned Eastern League and Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors as a result.
Jon Lester then pitched for the AAA-Pawtucket Red Sox for the first months of the 2006 season. There, he had a 3-4 win-loss record, and a 2.70 ERA in 11 starts.
MLB Debut And Cancer Setback
Lester made his big league debut on June 10, 2006 and won his first five decisions, the first lefty rookie in Sox history to do so. In 15 stars, he compiled a 7-2 record and a 4.76 ERA, finishing 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA in his final six outings.
In late August, Lester was pitching well and personally felt he was in top physical shape. However, he was concerned with unexplainable back pain. On September 1, the Red Sox announced that the 22-year-old was diagnosed with a form of cancer called anaplastic large-cell lymphoma, an aggressive but treatable type of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Thus, his promising season came to an end.
Lester then received treatment from Boston’s renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, and in very quick time, became cancer-free by December 2006.
2007 Comeback Season And World Series
After pitching well in Spring Training, Jon Lester started the season in the minors, making 18 starts and sporting a respectable 5-5 record and 3.47 ERA between stints in A-Greenville, Portland and Pawtucket.
On July 23, he returned to the pro Sox and beat the Cleveland Indians, allowing just two runs over six innings. Sox manager Terry Francona used him carefully thereafter, and went 4-0 in 11 starts.
Lester’s other milestone that season was winning Game Four of the World Series against the Colorado Rockies, which clinched Boston’s World Series championship. Lester became the third pitcher to win a series-clinching game in his postseason debut.
In late November, the Boston Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) gave him the Tony Conigliaro Award for his comeback from cancer.
2008 Season: No-Hitter And More Awards
Lester had his personal best season in 2008, also his first full one in the majors. He became a co-ace of the staff along with Josh Beckett and posted a 3.21 ERA, 210 IP, and a 16-6 record. His record was 11-1 at home in 17 starts, tied for the most home wins in the AL.
The southpaw also led the AL with two shutouts in 2008, one of which was a no-hitter in a 7-0 win versus the Kansas City Royals on May 19th in Boston. At age 24, he was the youngest lefty to ever pitch a no-hitter at Fenway Park and it was the 18th one in team history.
The BBWAA named Jon Lester the Red Sox pitcher of the year. He was the first lefty to get the honor in 20 years, with Bruce Hurst winning it back in 1988. He also won the Hutch Award for his courage in overcoming cancer.
2009 Season And Cy Young Award Contender
Lester’s performances in April And May were mixed, but from June on, he became a dominant, reliable pitcher once again and contender for the AL Cy Young Award (the winner of which will be announced in mid-November). In 32 starts, he had a 3.41 ERA and 15-8 win-loss record.
Lester broke Bruce Hurst’s team record of strikeouts for a lefty in a single season (190) and ended up obliterating it with 225 overall in ‘09, number one for lefties in the majors, third in the AL, and fifth in baseball. The deeper in the season he got, the better he was, as Lester’s .224 OBA post-All-Star break was second in the AL and fifth in the big leagues for the season.
At age 25, Jon Lester may be young, but having beaten cancer and the Rockies to win a World Series, he’s already proven to be a winner in life.
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