Jon Lester
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Boston Red Sox — No. 31 | |
| Starting pitcher | |
| Born: January 7, 1984 Tacoma, Washington |
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| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| June 10, 2006 for the Boston Red Sox | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through May 12, 2008) |
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| Win-Loss | 13-4 |
| Earned run average | 4.52 |
| Strikeouts | 139 |
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| Highlights and awards | |
Jonathan Tyler Lester (born January 7, 1984, in Tacoma, Washington) is a left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the Boston Red Sox.[1] Less than two years after being diagnosed with lymphoma, Lester pitched the final game of the 2007 World Series, and in May 2008 threw a no-hitter.
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[edit] Career
[edit] High school
Lester attended Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, Washington where he was a three-time MVP and three-time All-Area selection. In addition he was named Gatorade State Player of the Year for Washington in 2000.
[edit] Professional
The Red Sox drafted Lester in the second round (No. 57 overall) of the 2002 draft and gave him the highest signing bonus of any second-rounder that year, $1 million.
Lester quickly moved through the Red Sox organization, posting an 11-6 record, a league-leading 2.61 ERA and a league-best 163 strikeouts for the AA Portland Sea Dogs in 2005. He was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Year and Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year and was selected as the left-handed pitcher on the Eastern League's year-end All-Star team and on the year-end Topps AA All-Star squad.[2]
Lester has been one of the Red Sox top rated prospects since he signed with the team and highly sought by other major league teams. Before the 2004 season the Texas Rangers insisted he be a part of a proposed deal for Alex Rodriguez. The Sox also refused to make him a part of a deal for Josh Beckett before the 2006 season despite insistence from the Florida Marlins.[3]
With a rash of injuries and general ineffectiveness of several Red Sox starters, the team called up Lester on June 10, 2006 to make his major league debut against the Texas Rangers. He put up a 4.76 ERA in 81.1 innings pitched in 2006, his rookie year.
In the 2007 World Series, Lester won the series-clinching Game Four for the Red Sox, pitching 5⅔ shutout innings, giving up just 3 hits and 3 walks while collecting 3 strikeouts. Lester became just the third pitcher in World Series history to win a series clinching game in his first post-season start.
Rumors swirled again in the 2007 offseason when the Minnesota Twins were looking to trade star ace Johan Santana. The Red Sox were in the running for getting Santana, except they declined the offer which included Lester.
[edit] Pitching style
Lester, a left-hander, pitches from a low three-quarters arm angle with a deceptive delivery. He features 4-seam fastball (89-95 mph), a cut fastball (86-89), a slider (75-80), a changeup, and a good curveball (72-78). Lester can pitch himself into and out of jams due to his sometimes sporadic control, but has historically avoided bases-unloaded damage. As of July 24, 2007, he loads the bases approximately once in every four innings, but has a high volume of strikeouts when pitching from the stretch, allowing him to escape dangerous situations.
[edit] No-hitter
On May 19, 2008, Lester threw his first career Major League no-hitter,[4] and the 18th in Red Sox history, in a 7-0 win against the Kansas City Royals. Lester threw 130 pitches in the game, allowing only two walks and striking out 9 batters. Lester was charged with a throwing error on a pickoff attempt during the 2nd inning. It was the first no-hitter thrown by a Red Sox left-handed pitcher since Mel Parnell in 1956, the first in MLB since Clay Buchholz's September 2007 no-hitter, and the MLB-record fourth no-hitter caught by Jason Varitek. It was also only the second no-hitter ever pitched against the Royals; Nolan Ryan pitched the other in 1973. Below is a batter-by-batter recap of Lester's no-hitter.
Top of 1: Royals first. David DeJesus flied out to left fielder Manny Ramirez. Mark Grudzielanek struck out. Alex Gordon grounded out, second baseman Dustin Pedroia to first baseman Kevin Youkilis. Runs: 0, Hits: 0
Top of 2: Royals second. Jose Guillen flied out to left fielder Manny Ramirez. Billy Butler walked on a full count. Miguel Olivo grounded into fielder's choice, third baseman Mike Lowell to second baseman Dustin Pedroia, Billy Butler out. On Lester's error on a pickoff attempt, Miguel Olivo to second. Mark Teahen grounded out, pitcher Lester to first baseman Kevin Youkilis. Runs: 0, Hits: 0
Top of 3: Royals third. Esteban German lined out to first baseman Kevin Youkilis. Tony Pena Jr. grounded out, shortstop Julio Lugo to first baseman Kevin Youkilis. David DeJesus grounded out, shortstop Julio Lugo to first baseman Kevin Youkilis. Runs: 0, Hits: 0
Top of 4: Royals fourth. Mark Grudzielanek struck out. Alex Gordon flied out to center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury. Jose Guillen lined out to center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury. Runs: 0, Hits: 0
Top of 5: Royals fifth. Billy Butler struck out. Miguel Olivo struck out. Mark Teahen grounded out, second baseman Dustin Pedroia to first baseman Kevin Youkilis. Runs: 0, Hits: 0
Top of 6: Royals sixth. Estaban German struck out. Tony Pena Jr. grounded out, shortstop Julio Lugo to first baseman Kevin Youkilis. David DeJesus grounded out, second baseman Dustin Pedroia to first baseman Kevin Youkilis. Runs: 0, Hits: 0
Top of 7: Royals seventh. Mark Grudzielanek grounded out, pitcher Lester to first baseman Kevin Youkilis. Gordon flied out to left fielder Manny Ramirez. Jose Guillen struck out. Runs: 0, Hits: 0
Top of 8: Royals eighth. Jacoby Ellsbury in as left fielder. Coco Crisp in as center fielder. Billy Butler struck out. Miguel Olivo struck out. Mark Teahen flied out to center fielder Coco Crisp. Runs: 0, Hits: 0
Top of 9: Royals ninth. Alex Cora in as shortstop. Estaban German walked. Tony Pena Jr. grounded out, third baseman Mike Lowell to first baseman Kevin Youkilis, Estaban German to second. David DeJesus grounded out, first baseman Kevin Youkilis unassisted, Estaban German to third. Alberto Callaspo struck out. Runs: 0, Hits: 0
[edit] Personal Life
[edit] Battle with lymphoma
On August 27, 2006 Lester was scratched from his scheduled start against the Oakland Athletics due to a sore back. The following day he was placed on the 15-day disabled list, and was sent back to Boston for testing. At the time, Lester's back problems were thought to be the result of a car crash he was involved in earlier in the month. On August 31 it was reported that Lester had been diagnosed with enlarged lymph nodes and was being tested for a variety of ailments, including forms of cancer.[5] A few days later, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital confirmed that Lester had a treatable form of anaplastic large cell lymphoma.[6]
In December of 2006, ESPN.com reported that Lester's latest CT Scan showed no signs of the disease, which appeared to be in remission. Lester attended spring training in 2007, and started the season for the class A Greenville Drive. Lester then started for AAA Pawtucket Red Sox in late April 2007.[7] In June, Lester was removed from the disabled list, and sent to Pawtucket for further rehab outings.[8] Lester made his first 2007 start for the Boston Red Sox on July 23 against the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, pitching 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and struck out 6, picking up the win.
To honor Lester's comeback from lymphoma, Boston Baseball Writers' Association of America honored him with the 2007 Tony Conigliaro Award.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ Player Profile on mlb.com
- ^ The Official Site of The Boston Red Sox: Team: Player Information : Biography and Career Highlights
- ^ Pajamas Media
- ^ Ian Browne (2008-05-19). Lester hurls 18th Red Sox no-no. Retrieved on 2008-05-19.
- ^ Error - BostonHerald.com
- ^ ESPN (12-05-2006). Report: Lester's latest CT scan clean. ESPN.com. Retrieved on December 05, 2006.
- ^ Associated Press (09-01-2006). Sox: Lester has treatable form of lymphoma.. Boston Herald. Retrieved on September 01, 2006.
- ^ Red Sox option LHP Jon Lester to Pawtucket. MLB.com (06-11-2007).
- ^ Lester gets the honor - Extra Bases - Red Sox blog
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
- Official Site
- SoxProspects.com Bio
- Interview With Lester
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