Jon Lester’s been a busy man recently, but there was no way he was going to forget to call Dustin Pedroia.
Lester and the Boston Red Sox second baseman spoke frequently in recent weeks. The free-agent Lester was being courted by multiple teams, and Pedroia obviously wanted a reunion in Boston with the left-handed ace.
It wasn’t meant to be, though, and Lester signed with the Chicago Cubs. Shortly after being introduced as a Cub on Monday, Lester said he made sure Pedroia was someone he reached out to shortly after making his decision.
“Probably to Pedroia. I’d say that was the hardest,” Lester answered when asked which phone call was his most difficult, according to The Boston Globe. “I wanted to call the guys that meant the most to me while I was there. And that’s what makes Pedey so great. He’ll call you one minute and cuss you out about coming back and you call him a few hours later and you’re shedding tears with him. Those guys I’ll love and consider my brothers until I’m dead. That was most difficult.”
Lester and Pedroia both made their MLB debuts in 2006 and became franchise fixtures for the better part of the next decade. The duo won a World Series as youngsters in 2007 and captured the title again in 2013 as veteran leaders.
Lester also made sure to spread the unfortunate news to the other teams pursuing him before he reached his decision.
“Second was (Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington),” Lester said. “Every team that came over to the house and made an offer and spent the time got a phone call from me. I wanted to make sure they heard a thank you from me.”
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
