1984
Born January 7, 1984
Tacoma, WA, USA
Jon Lester Marquee
b. January 7, 1984 · Boston Red Sox 2006–2014, Oakland Athletics 2014, Chicago Cubs 2015–2020, Washington Nationals 2021, St. Louis Cardinals 2021
He was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma in August 2006, in his rookie season, at twenty-two. He was back pitching by July 2007 and won the fourth and final game of that year's World Series for Boston in October. In May 2008 he threw a no-hitter.
Sixteen seasons gave him 200 wins against 117, 2,488 strikeouts — 41st all-time — and a 3.66 earned run average across 2,740 innings, with five All-Star selections. He led the American League in wins in 2018 and in shutouts in 2008.
He won the World Series three times: 2007 and 2013 with Boston, and 2016 with the Cubs, where he was the most valuable player of the Championship Series and the club ended a 108-year wait. He was not able to throw to first base without trouble for much of his career, and hitters bunted on him for years, and it did not much matter.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 5 | 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2018 |
| Pitcher of the Month | 4 | 2008, 2010, 2016, 2018 |
| Player of the Week | 3 | 2008, 2014, 2016 |
| Babe Ruth Award | 1 | 2016 |
| Hutch Award | 1 | 2008 |
| NLCS MVP | 1 | 2016 |
| This Year in Baseball Performance of the Year | 1 | 2008 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | BOS | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 |
| 2007 | BOS | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | BOS | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 2009 | BOS | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 2010 | BOS | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 2011 | BOS | 31 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 |
| 2012 | BOS | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 |
| 2013 | BOS | 33 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 |
| 2014 | BOS/OAK | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 |
| 2015 | CHC | 32 | 62 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 30 | 0 | .065 |
| 2016 | CHC | 33 | 59 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 0 | .102 |
| 2017 | CHC | 32 | 54 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 26 | 1 | .148 |
| 2018 | CHC | 34 | 59 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 22 | 0 | .119 |
| 2019 | CHC | 32 | 48 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 0 | .188 |
| 2020 | CHC | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | STL/WSN | 30 | 48 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 24 | 0 | .167 |
| Career | — | 458 | 366 | 27 | 42 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 31 | 21 | 162 | 1 | .115 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | BOS | 7 | 2 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 81.1 | 91 | 43 | 43 | 60 | 4.76 |
| 2007 | BOS | 4 | 0 | 12 | 11 | 0 | 63.0 | 61 | 32 | 31 | 50 | 4.57 |
| 2008 | BOS | 16 | 6 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 210.1 | 202 | 75 | 66 | 152 | 3.21 |
| 2009 | BOS | 15 | 8 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 203.1 | 186 | 77 | 64 | 225 | 3.41 |
| 2010 | BOS | 19 | 9 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 208.0 | 167 | 75 | 83 | 225 | 3.25 |
| 2011 | BOS | 15 | 9 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 191.2 | 166 | 74 | 75 | 182 | 3.47 |
| 2012 | BOS | 9 | 14 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 205.1 | 216 | 110 | 68 | 166 | 4.82 |
| 2013 | BOS | 15 | 8 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 213.1 | 209 | 89 | 67 | 177 | 3.75 |
| 2014 | BOS/OAK | 16 | 11 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 219.2 | 194 | 60 | 48 | 220 | 2.46 |
| 2015 | CHC | 11 | 12 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 205.0 | 183 | 76 | 47 | 207 | 3.34 |
| 2016 | CHC | 19 | 5 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 202.2 | 154 | 55 | 52 | 197 | 2.44 |
| 2017 | CHC | 13 | 8 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 180.2 | 179 | 87 | 60 | 180 | 4.33 |
| 2018 | CHC | 18 | 6 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 181.2 | 174 | 67 | 64 | 149 | 3.32 |
| 2019 | CHC | 13 | 10 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 171.2 | 205 | 85 | 52 | 165 | 4.46 |
| 2020 | CHC | 3 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 61.0 | 64 | 35 | 17 | 42 | 5.16 |
| 2021 | STL/WSN | 7 | 6 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 141.1 | 159 | 74 | 55 | 91 | 4.71 |
| Career | — | 200 | 117 | 452 | 451 | 0 | 2740.0 | 2610 | 1114 | 892 | 2488 | 3.66 |
On this day & linked events
2006
Major-league debut: Jon Lester
Jon Lester made a major-league debut on June 10, 2006.
2008
Jon Lester's No-Hitter
Jon Lester threw a no-hitter for the Boston Red Sox against the Kansas City Royals on May 19, 2008, winning 7–0.
2021
Final major-league game: Jon Lester
Jon Lester played a final major-league game on October 2, 2021.