Jon Lester — 31 | SP

Date of Birth: 7 January 1984
Place of Birth: Tacoma, WA
Height: 6-2  Weight: 190
Bats: Left  Throws: Left
College: None
Drafted: 2002 (Boston Red Sox)

Years Pro: 4
Years with Red Sox: 4

Career Pitching Statistics through 2009 Season

More about Jon Lester

• Lester made his major league debut in June of 2006 and started his career 5-0 with a 2.38 ERA in his first eight starts. The highlight of his fast start came on 18 July when he pitched eight strong innings and allowed just one hit and four walks while striking out four in a 1-0 win for Boston.
• The rookie's season was abruptly cut short in late August when doctors discovered lymphoma, a form of cancer. However, following treatment through the fall of 2006, CT scans a few months later showed that the cancer was in remission, and the young pitcher joined his teammates in Fort Myers the following spring.
• After starting the 2007 season in the minors, Lester made his first start back with Boston on July 23 against the Indians in Cleveland, going six full innings and allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out six and picking up his first win in nearly a year. Lester also started Game Four of the World Series, his first and only start of the post-season, and eventually earned the series-clinching win for Boston. In November 2007, in recognition of his recovery, the southpaw was honored in November with the 2007 Tony Conigliaro Award
• On 19 May 2008, Lester became the 18th Boston pitcher and the fourth since 2001 to pitch a no-hitter in a 7-0 win over the Kansas City Royals. He walked two batters while striking out nine in what also marked his first complete game effort as a major league pitcher.

Memorable Moments for Jon Lester

• 19 July 2006 - Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon combine for Boston's second consecutive 1-0 shutout over Kansas City, the first time since 1916 that the Red Sox had won back-to-back 1-0 wins at Fenway Park. Rookie pitcher Jon Lester had allowed just one hit in eight innings of work the previous day against the Royals and Papelbon had worked a perfect ninth.
• 23 July 2007 - Nearly one year after being diagnosed with lymphoma, Jon Lester returns to the mound in Cleveland and goes six full innings to earn the win in his first start since the previous August. After the season, in recognition of his recovery, the southpaw is honored with the 2007 Tony Conigliaro Award.
• 19 May 2008 - Jon Lester becomes the second Red Sox pitcher in eight months to hurl a no-hitter, striking out nine and yielding just two walks in a 7-0 win over Kansas City at Fenway Park.
• 21 January 2009 - Southpaw Jon Lester, who overcame anaplastic large cell lymphoma to pitch Game Four of the 2007 World Series and hurl a no-hitter in May 2008, wins the Hutch Award, and the first to be treated by a doctor from the renowned institution named for Seattle baseball legend Fred Hutchinson.
• 6 June 2009 - With one out in the top of the seventh at Fenway Park, Texas third baseman Michael Young's double breaks up a perfect game being thrown by Boston southpaw Jon Lester, who settles for a complete game two-hitter and an 8-1 win for Boston. The gem comes just over a year after Lester had no-hit the Kansas City Royals.
• 6 September 2009 - Jon Lester becomes the tenth Boston pitcher in franchise history to record 200 strikeouts in a single season as the Red Sox win 6-1 over the White Sox. Lester joins Bruce Hurst as the only southpaws to reach this mark with the team.

Buy from MLB.com Shop!

Find the Perfect Gift For Your Biggest Fan From the Gift Finder at MLB.com Shop!