User:Stismail/Jon Lester

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. 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; Lester is the only pitcher ever to do both before age 25.

High school career
Lester was a three-time MVP and three-time All-Area selection at Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, Washington. In 2000 he was named Washington's Gatorade State Player of the Year.

The Red Sox drafted Lester in the second round (No. 57 overall) of the 2002 draft, and gave him a $1 million signing bonus, the largest bonus of any second-rounder that year.

Minor league career
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.

Lester has been one of the Red Sox' top rated prospects since he signed with the team, and other major league teams have made efforts to acquire him. The Texas Rangers had demanded Lester be part of the proposed but ultimately rejected deal before the 2004 season for Alex Rodriguez. The Florida Marlins insisted he be included in the trade for Josh Beckett before the 2006 season, but, again, the Sox were able to keep Lester.

2006 season
The Red Sox, plagued by injuries to and the general ineffectiveness of their starting pitchers, called up Lester on June 10, 2006, to make his major league debut against the Texas Rangers. He compiled a 4.76 ERA in 81⅓ innings pitched in 2006.

Lymphoma diagnosis
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 earlier in the month. On August 31, it was reported that Lester had been diagnosed with enlarged lymph nodes. A few days later, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital confirmed that Lester had a treatable form of anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

2007 season
In December 2006, ESPN.com reported that CT scans indicated Lester's cancer was in remission. Lester attend spring training with the Sox in 2007, but started the season with the class A Greenville Drive. In late April 2007 Lester started for the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox. In June, Lester was removed from the disabled list, and sent to Pawtucket for further rehab outings. Lester made his first 2007 start for Boston in a win on July 23 against the Cleveland Indians at Jacobs Field, pitching six innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out six.

Playoffs
Lester was not on the active roster for the Red Sox' first two playoff series against the Angels and Indians. Originally, he was not to be on the roster for the 2007 World Series, but after knuckleballer Tim Wakefield was scratched from the World Series roster because of injuries, Lester was added to the roster in his place. Thus, Lester was the starting pitcher for Game 4, in which the Sox clinched the series. Lester pitched 5⅔ shutout innings, giving up just 3 hits and 3 walks while collecting 3 strikeouts. Lester became only the third pitcher in World Series history, and the first since 1950, to win a series-clinching game in his first ever post-season start (after Whitey Ford and Tiny Bonham).

To honor Lester's comeback from lymphoma, Boston Baseball Writers' Association of America honored him with the 2007 Tony Conigliaro Award.

Rumors swirled again in the 2007 offseason when the Minnesota Twins were looking to trade star ace Johan Santana. The Red Sox proposed multiple offers to the Twins for Santana -- including one package that would have traded Lester and other prospects -- but the Twins ultimately dealt Santana to the New York Mets.

Pitching style
Lester, a left-hander, pitches from a low three-quarters arm angle with a deceptive delivery. He features 4-seam fastball (90-95 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.

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. A few days later, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital confirmed that Lester had a treatable form of anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

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. In June, Lester was removed from the disabled list, and sent to Pawtucket for further rehab outings. 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. Lester started and won the clinching game of the the 2007 World Series, Game 4 against the Colorado Rockies.

To honor Lester's comeback from lymphoma, Boston Baseball Writers' Association of America honored him with the 2007 Tony Conigliaro Award.

On July 11, 2008 He became engaged to his girlfriend Farrah Johnson. The two have been dating since early in the 2007 season.

No-hitter
On May 19, 2008, Lester threw his first career Major League no-hitter, 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, although he was charged with a throwing error on a pickoff attempt in the second 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.

After the game, Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who earlier in the day had attended his son's commencement ceremony at the University of Pennsylvania, was quoted as saying, "This probably isn't fair to say, but I feel like my son graduated and my son threw a no-hitter. It's probably selfish on my part to even say something like that. But I think it's obvious how we feel about this kid."

Just as Clay Buchholz's no-hitter was preserved by a spectacular play by rookie Dustin Pedroia, Lester's was preserved by a diving catch by rookie center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury to end the fourth inning.

Rest of 2008
Lester was suspended five games for his participation in a May brawl in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays. On July 3, in his first start in Yankee Stadium, Lester threw a complete game shutout against the Yankees, making Lester the first Red Sox lefty to throw 2 shutouts since 1956. As of July 10, he has an ERA of 3.38 and a record of 9 wins and 3 losses.