A Tale You Won't Believe

Jon Lester has always shown a flair for the dramatic, and yesterday he added to his already impressive resume. With what he has accomplished, on both the baseball diamond and in his life, it is almost impossible to believe that Jon Lester is still just a 24-year old kid. He shouldn't even be in the Major Leagues, let alone a member of the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. While we may not yet know whether Lester will develop into a Hall of Fame pitcher, he has a story that gives so much hope to people around the world.

The tale of Jon Lester begins in 2002. The Red Sox, a cursed organization that at the time had not won a World Series in 84 years, finally got some luck on their side. Lester slid to the 57th pick in the First Year Players Draft, where the Red Sox were happy to scoop him up. Every single Major League team had a chance to take the young lefty from Tacoma, Washington, yet somehow, fate placed Lester in the hands of the Sox.

The tale continues in 2003, where the Red Sox had finished yet another heartbreaking season without a World Series. There was talk of a Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra being shipped to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Alex Rodriquez. If the two teams had agreed to the trade, Lester would also have been headed to Texas. Yet again, fate stepped in and the Red Sox kept Lester. Boston wound up winning its first World Series in 86 years in 2004.

Before 2006, trade winds began swirling around Lester once again. Lester, now on the cusp of the majors, was rumored to be heading to Florida in a deal for Josh Beckett. However, Red Sox general manager refused to part with Lester, instead giving up Anibal Sanchez to go along with Hanley Ramirez to Florida.

Somehow, Lester had fallen into the Red Sox hands in the First Year Player Draft in 2002. Somehow, Theo Epstein had refused to trade Lester to the Texas Rangers to get Rodriquez in 2003 (the deal fell through), and again in 2006, managing to package Anibal Sanchez with Hanley Ramirez in the Josh Beckett trade with Florida. By the time of his rookie season in 2006, Lester could easily have been a Texas Ranger or Florida Marlin.

The tale continues on June 10th, 2006. On that day, Lester made his first career Major League start, against the Rangers. Lester ended up having a decent rookie season, finishing 7-2 with a 4.76 ERA. However, on August 31st, Lester was diagnosed with a treatable form of anaplastic large cell lymphoma, in other words, cancer. Lester underwent treatment and by December, his cancer was in remission.

Lester reported to spring training with the Red Sox in 2007, but was sent to the minor leagues to regain the strength lost from cancer. On July 23rd, Lester was called back up to the Sox to complete his comeback to the majors. On national TV, many cancer patients watched their new role model give them more hope as Lester pitched 6 strong innings, allowing just 2 runs, in Cleveland to beat the Indians. Lester finished the regular season 4-0, with a 4.57 ERA and was honored with the Tony Conigliaro Award, which is given to the player that best overcomes an obstacle and adversity. Despite the comeback and the honor, Lester's best was yet to come in 2007.

Jon Lester was a key member in the Red Sox run to the World Series in 2007. Standing on the mound in Game 4 of the World Series, Lester turned in 5.2 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits while striking out 3. Lester became just the third player in MLB history to win a series-clinching game in their first career postseason start. Just one year after Lester's dream of playing in the Major League's could have ended, Lester was celebrating his first World Series Championship after earning the victory.

That leads the tale to last night. Red Sox catcher described Lester's pregame bullpen session as "terrible", and Lester's first few innings as a "struggle". But Lester never lost poise. Maybe beating cancer can teach that. Once Lester settled in, history was in the making. As soon as his 96 MPH fastball flew by the bat of Alberto Callaspo, Lester became the first lefthanded Red Sox pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Mel Parnell in 1956.

Lester's brilliant performance brought Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell to tears. It was a performance that will inspire many who still struggle with cancer, and a performance that makes the Red Sox even happier that Lester fell into their hands, and that they kept him when the temptation was there to trade him. The tale of Jon Lester is one of the most heartwarming stories ever told. Hopefully there is still more to be told in the inspirational tale of Jon Lester.