Jon Lester

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2006-2021)

W–L 200–117
ERA 3.66
WHIP 1.28
SO 2,488
Pitcher PIV 26548.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'4" / 249 lb
Born
1/7/1984 in Tacoma, WA, USA
MLB Debut
2006-06-10
Last Game
2021-10-02
Awards
5× All-Star · NLCS MVP · Babe Ruth Award

Full name: Jonathan Tyler Lester

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
200 117 452 451 15 4 0 2740.0 2,610 1,114 294 892 2,488 3.66 26548.5

Career ERA 3.66 vs. league average 4.19 across their career seasons — 12.6% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
2006 BOS AL 7 2 15 15 0 0 0 81.3 91 43 43 60 4.76 4.53 (-5%) -68.8
2007 BOS AL 4 0 12 11 0 0 0 63.0 61 32 31 50 4.57 4.47 (-2%) -1207.3
2008 BOS AL 16 6 33 33 2 2 0 210.3 202 75 66 152 3.21 4.32 (+26%) 3773.3
2009 BOS AL 15 8 32 32 2 0 0 203.3 186 77 64 225 3.41 4.32 (+21%) 6199.4
2010 BOS AL 19 9 32 32 2 0 0 208.0 167 75 83 225 3.25 4.08 (+20%) 5139.9
2011 BOS AL 15 9 31 31 0 0 0 191.7 166 74 75 182 3.47 3.94 (+12%) 565.6
2012 BOS AL 9 14 33 33 3 0 0 205.3 216 110 68 166 4.82 4.01 (-20%) -502.8
2013 BOS AL 15 8 33 33 1 1 0 213.3 209 89 67 177 3.75 3.87 (+3%) 1550.9
2014 BOS AL 10 7 21 21 0 0 0 143.0 128 40 32 149 2.52 3.74 (+33%) 4117.7
2014 OAK AL 6 4 11 11 1 1 0 76.7 66 20 16 71 2.35 3.74 (+37%) 1184.5
2015 CHN NL 11 12 32 32 1 0 0 205.0 183 76 47 207 3.34 3.96 (+16%) 5568.3
2016 CHN NL 19 5 32 32 2 0 0 202.7 154 55 52 197 2.44 4.19 (+42%) 4126.4
2017 CHN NL 13 8 32 32 1 0 0 180.7 179 87 60 180 4.33 4.36 (+1%) 1215.2
2018 CHN NL 18 6 32 32 0 0 0 181.7 174 67 64 149 3.32 4.15 (+20%) -1111.8
2019 CHN NL 13 10 31 31 0 0 0 171.7 205 85 52 165 4.46 4.51 (+1%) 1103.0
2020 CHN NL 3 3 12 12 0 0 0 61.0 64 35 17 42 5.16 4.45 (-16%) -1050.7
2021 WAS NL 3 5 16 16 0 0 0 75.3 91 42 29 51 5.02 4.27 (-18%) -2186.8
2021 SLN NL 4 1 12 12 0 0 0 66.0 68 32 26 40 4.36 4.27 (-2%) -1867.4
Career · 18 seasons 200 117 452 451 15 4 0 2,740.0 2,610 1,114 892 2,488 3.66 — 26,549

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
458 366 27 42 10 0 4 31 1 21 162 .115 .162 .175 .337 -2,402

Career AVG .115 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 55.2% below league average.

Career OBP .162 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 50.0% below league average.

Career SLG .175 vs. league average .412 across their career seasons — 57.6% below league average.

Career OPS .337 vs. league average .736 across their career seasons — 54.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
2006 BOS AL 15 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
2007 BOS AL 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2008 BOS AL 33 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
2009 BOS AL 32 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
2010 BOS AL 32 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
2011 BOS AL 31 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
2012 BOS AL 33 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
2013 BOS AL 33 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000 — — — — 0.0
2014 BOS AL 21 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
2014 OAK AL 11 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
2015 CHN NL 32 62 6 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 30 .065 .254 (-75%) .316 (-66%) .404 (-84%) .721 (-76%) -743.5
2016 CHN NL 33 59 3 6 3 0 0 6 0 6 18 .102 .255 (-60%) .321 (-43%) .417 (-63%) .738 (-54%) -521.6
2017 CHN NL 32 54 5 8 3 0 1 6 1 4 26 .148 .254 (-42%) .324 (-37%) .425 (-39%) .750 (-38%) -359.9
2018 CHN NL 34 59 4 7 0 0 1 9 0 0 22 .119 .247 (-52%) .318 (-63%) .409 (-59%) .727 (-60%) -569.4
2019 CHN NL 32 48 6 9 2 0 1 6 0 5 20 .188 — — — — -207.9
2020 CHN NL 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2021 WAS NL 18 28 3 5 0 0 1 3 0 0 13 .179 — — — — 0.0
2021 SLN NL 12 20 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 2 11 .150 — — — — 0.0
Career · 18 seasons 458 366 27 42 10 0 4 31 1 21 162 .115 — — — — -2,402

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
26 21 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 11 .048

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2018 NLWC CHN 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
2017 NLCS CHN 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .500
2017 NLDS2 CHN 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
2016 NLCS CHN 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000
2016 NLDS1 CHN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
2016 WS CHN 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
2015 NLCS CHN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
2015 NLDS1 CHN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2014 ALWC OAK 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2013 ALCS BOS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2013 ALDS1 BOS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2013 WS BOS 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
2009 ALDS2 BOS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2008 ALCS BOS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2008 ALDS1 BOS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2007 ALCS BOS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2007 WS BOS 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
9 7 26 22 0 154.0 117 43 40 133 2.51

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2018 NLWC CHN 0 0 1 1 0 6.0 4 1 1 9 1.50
2017 NLCS CHN 0 0 1 1 0 4.7 3 1 5 2 1.93
2017 NLDS2 CHN 0 0 2 1 0 9.7 3 2 3 5 1.86
2016 NLCS CHN 1 0 2 2 0 13.0 9 2 2 9 1.38
2016 NLDS1 CHN 1 0 1 1 0 8.0 5 0 0 5 0.00
2016 WS CHN 1 1 3 2 0 14.7 13 6 4 16 3.68
2015 NLCS CHN 0 1 1 1 0 6.7 8 4 1 5 5.40
2015 NLDS1 CHN 0 1 1 1 0 7.3 5 3 1 9 3.68
2014 ALWC OAK 0 0 1 1 0 7.3 8 6 2 5 7.36
2013 ALCS BOS 1 1 2 2 0 11.7 13 3 4 7 2.31
2013 ALDS1 BOS 1 0 1 1 0 7.7 3 2 3 7 2.35
2013 WS BOS 2 0 2 2 0 15.3 9 1 1 15 0.59
2009 ALDS2 BOS 0 1 1 1 0 6.0 4 3 4 5 4.50
2008 ALCS BOS 0 2 2 2 0 12.7 14 7 2 15 4.97
2008 ALDS1 BOS 1 0 2 2 0 14.0 10 0 3 11 0.00
2007 ALCS BOS 0 0 2 0 0 3.7 3 2 1 5 4.91
2007 WS BOS 1 0 1 1 0 5.7 3 0 3 3 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (910 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2301771821417.119
Away228189921014.111

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2271382.0134355943912543.64
Away2251358.0126755545312343.68

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
2021-10-02 STLCHCL 100000011
2021-09-25 STLCHCW 200000001
2021-09-20 STLMILW 200000001
2021-09-15 STLNYNW 301100002
2021-09-10 STLCINL 200000002
2021-09-05 STLMILL 200000011
2021-08-30 STLCINW 301000001
2021-08-25 STLDETW 100000001
2021-08-19 STLMILW 100000001
2021-08-14 STLKCRW 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
2021-10-02 STLCHC — 5.0644441
2021-09-25 STLCHC — 5.0843360
2021-09-20 STLMIL W 6.0322022
2021-09-15 STLNYN W 6.0632072
2021-09-10 STLCIN — 7.0322422
2021-09-05 STLMIL — 5.1611221
2021-08-30 STLCIN W 6.1111251
2021-08-25 STLDET — 5.0711240
2021-08-19 STLMIL — 4.1644300
2021-08-14 STLKCR W 5.2711220

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 452 451 147 266 20 18

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
2006 BOS P 15 15 0 11 0 0
2007 BOS P 12 11 6 4 1 0
2008 BOS P 33 33 19 21 2 3
2009 BOS P 32 32 7 24 2 1
2010 BOS P 32 32 5 35 3 2
2011 BOS P 31 31 9 19 1 2
2012 BOS P 33 33 14 21 2 3
2013 BOS P 33 33 12 18 2 1
2014 BOS P 21 21 4 12 2 1
2014 OAK P 11 11 4 4 0 0
2015 CHN P 32 32 10 17 3 1
2016 CHN P 32 32 18 17 0 1
2017 CHN P 32 32 14 23 0 1
2018 CHN P 32 32 9 14 0 0
2019 CHN P 31 31 5 5 1 1
2020 CHN P 12 12 2 4 1 0
2021 WAS P 16 16 5 10 0 1
2021 SLN P 12 12 4 7 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 452

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
2018 Pitcher of the Month June
2016 Babe Ruth Award
2016 NLCS MVP Co-MVP
2016 Pitcher of the Month June
2016 Pitcher of the Month September
2016 Player of the Week Week of 2016-06-11
2014 Player of the Week Week of 2014-09-14
2010 Pitcher of the Month May
2008 Hutch Award
2008 Pitcher of the Month July
2008 Pitcher of the Month September
2008 Player of the Week Week of 2008-05-24
2008 This Year in Baseball Performance of the Year MLB.com GIBBY

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2016 CHN NL $25,000,000
2015 CHN NL $20,000,000
2014 BOS AL $13,000,000
2013 BOS AL $11,625,000
2012 BOS AL $7,625,000
2011 BOS AL $5,750,000
2010 BOS AL $3,750,000
2009 BOS AL $1,000,000
2008 BOS AL $421,500
2007 BOS AL $384,000
Total Career Earnings $88,555,500

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
2018 Cy Young Award NL 9th 2.0 210 0
2016 Cy Young Award NL 2nd 102.0 210 1
2014 Cy Young Award AL 4th 46.0 210 0
2010 Cy Young Award AL 4th 33.0 196 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Jon Lester (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Dwight Gooden
    194-112, 3.51 ERA
  2. 86
    John Lackey
    188-147, 3.92 ERA
  3. 85
    Adam Wainwright
    200-128, 3.53 ERA
  4. 83
    David Cone
    194-126, 3.46 ERA
  5. 81
    Felix Hernandez
    169-136, 3.42 ERA
  6. 75
    Kevin Appier
    169-137, 3.74 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Jon Lester

What years did Jon Lester play?
Jon Lester played in Major League Baseball from 2006 to 2021.
Was Jon Lester a pitcher?
Yes. Jon Lester pitched in the major leagues, recording 200 wins and 2488 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Jon Lester hit?
Jon Lester hit 4 career home runs with 42 hits.