Jon Lester has a compelling case to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but it’s not a topic that’s taking up a lot of real estate in his mind.
The former Boston Red Sox pitcher won two World Series with the organization in 2007 and 2013. Lester also threw a no-hitter after undergoing cancer treatments and was an integral part of Boston’s rotation during his nine seasons with the Red Sox.
The southpaw went on to win his third World Series with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.
All told, Lester finished his career with a 200-117 record, 3.66 ERA and 2,488 strikeouts across 2,740 innings pitched.
Lester announced his retirement in January, so it will be 2027 before we know if he’ll at least be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. If you ask the five-time All-Star, though, he’s not thinking about Cooperstown all that much.
“No,” Lester said during an appearance on “The Bernstein & Holmes Show,” as transcribed by WEEI. “No, not really. Because I still think it’s like a fairy tale. It’s something — you know, like I’ve always said, my goal as a kid was to get to the big leagues. And then when I got to the big leagues, my goal was to try to be a Curt Schilling, a Josh Beckett, a Roger Clemens, a Randy Johnson — a guy that when it mattered the most, I was the guy they said they wanted out there. So I checked those two boxes off, then the other one was being a good teammate, being accountable for my routine and my work ethic and playing the game the right way.
“… I don’t want to say it’s not attainable, but it’s something that if it happens, I’ll be the happiest person in the world. But if it doesn’t happen, it’s not why I played the game of baseball. I played the game of baseball for those other reasons.”
While getting into the Hall of Fame certainly would cap off a heck of a career by Lester, he without a doubt has plenty of accomplishments to get back on.
