And he’s only 26: Think back to May 19, 2008, and the image of Red Sox manager Terry Francona nearly in tears as he hugged Jon Lester after the young left-hander had thrown a no-hitter at Fenway Park.
The scene said so much. There was the emotion surrounding Lester’s inspiring journey from cancer diagnosis to reaching the pinnacle of his profession. There was euphoria over the club’s 18th no-hitter and the first by a lefty since 1956.
And there was likely relief beyond belief that the rumors swirling around Lester just months earlier — those which had him being traded to Minnesota for Johan Santana — never amounted to much.
Until that start against Kansas City, not everyone was convinced the deal should not have been done. Lester, then 24, was still struggling to work deep into games. He was 2-2 with an ERA near 4.00 and had yet to show true dominance.
Now, less than two years later, such dominance is almost expected — and in Lester, the Red Sox have an ace to build around for years to come. While Josh Beckett’s contract situation remains fluid and John Lackey’s new deal will take him down the backside of his career, Lester is locked down through 2014.
Yet, despite his rocket-like ascension to the top of the rotation, Lester's unwavering humility remains — the same humility he showed when he beat cancer and mowed down the Royals two seasons ago.
“I don’t care,” Lester recently told reporters when asked about being labeled the ace of the staff. “Like I said, it takes all of us to win. I can’t go out there or Josh or Lackey or Clay [Buchholz] or Dice [Matsuzaka] or [Tim Wakefield] … we can’t do it by ourselves. Regardless of who the ace is, or [who] the No. 1 or the No. 5 guy is, we all have to go out and compete and pitch well in order to win a championship.”
Lester’s done that, too. Remember, he was the 23-year-old on the mound in the clincher of the 2007 World Series.
While Lester has accomplished more on and off the field than most have by their mid-20s, he says there is still room for growth, most notably in getting off to better starts. He had a 5.40 ERA six starts into the 2008 season and a 6.07 mark through 10 outings last year.
Improvement has been evident in other areas. While he pitched seven fewer innings in 2009 than he did the year before, he had an additional 73 strikeouts, ranking third in the American League in that category. Meanwhile, his walks total fell by two.
Lester’s WHIP has fallen each of his four seasons in the majors. So, too, have opponents’ batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
It’s a scary thought for opponents. Almost as scary as all those trade rumors back in the day.
Other options: Are there any? If you really want to debate the best pitcher on the staff, throw Beckett and Lackey into the mix, but Lester is the only one still coming into his own.
It may not mean much, but Lester was the first of the three to take the mound this spring. Perhaps a precursor to an Opening Day start?
If all else fails: There won’t be any trade rumors surrounding Lester anymore, but if by some chance his performance suddenly falls off in 2010, inking Beckett to an extension might become a priority.
