Jon Lester, baseball player, 2006-2021

Jon Lester

Born: 1/7/1984 in Tacoma, WA, USA

MLB Debut: 2006-06-10 | Final Game: 2021-10-02

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'4" | Weight: 249 lbs

Full name: Jonathan Tyler Lester

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Biography

Jon Lester, born in 1984, was a prominent left-handed pitcher who made a significant impact in Major League Baseball from 2006 until his retirement in 2021. Over the course of his career, Lester compiled a record of 200-117, showcasing his effectiveness on the mound with a career ERA of 3.66 and an impressive total of 2,488 strikeouts. Known for his poise and competitiveness, Lester became a reliable ace for several teams, particularly during the playoffs, where he earned the NLCS MVP award for his standout performances. Lester was a five-time All-Star, recognized for his ability to perform under pressure and his durability as a starting pitcher. His career spanned the late 2000s through the 2020s, a period characterized by heightened offensive production in the league. Despite this, Lester maintained a consistent level of excellence that made him a respected figure in baseball. He played an instrumental role in the resurgence of the Chicago Cubs, helping to end the franchise's 108-year championship drought in 2016. With a legacy as one of the era's top pitchers, Lester remains a celebrated figure in baseball history for his contributions both on and off the field.

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 2610 1114 294 892 2488 3.66 0

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
2006 BOS AL 7 2 15 15 0 0 0 81.3 91 43 43 60 4.76 -70.0
2007 BOS AL 4 0 12 11 0 0 0 63.0 61 32 31 50 4.57 -1222.9
2008 BOS AL 16 6 33 33 2 2 0 210.3 202 75 66 152 3.21 3773.3
2009 BOS AL 15 8 32 32 2 0 0 203.3 186 77 64 225 3.41 6199.4
2010 BOS AL 19 9 32 32 2 0 0 208.0 167 75 83 225 3.25 5139.9
2011 BOS AL 15 9 31 31 0 0 0 191.7 166 74 75 182 3.47 565.6
2012 BOS AL 9 14 33 33 3 0 0 205.3 216 110 68 166 4.82 -524.0
2013 BOS AL 15 8 33 33 1 1 0 213.3 209 89 67 177 3.75 1550.9
2014 BOS AL 10 7 21 21 0 0 0 143.0 128 40 32 149 2.52 4117.7
2014 OAK AL 6 4 11 11 1 1 0 76.7 66 20 16 71 2.35 1184.5
2015 CHC NL 11 12 32 32 1 0 0 205.0 183 76 47 207 3.34 -
2016 CHC NL 19 5 32 32 2 0 0 202.7 154 55 52 197 2.44 -
2017 CHC NL 13 8 32 32 1 0 0 180.7 179 87 60 180 4.33 -
2018 CHC NL 18 6 32 32 0 0 0 181.7 174 67 64 149 3.32 -
2019 CHC NL 13 10 31 31 0 0 0 171.7 205 85 52 165 4.46 -
2020 CHC NL 3 3 12 12 0 0 0 61.0 64 35 17 42 5.16 -
2021 STL NL 4 1 12 12 0 0 0 66.0 68 32 26 40 4.36 -
2021 WAS NL 3 5 16 16 0 0 0 75.3 91 42 29 51 5.02 -2220.7

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 0.115 0.162 0.175 0.337 -2547.8

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG PIV
2006 BOS AL 15 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 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 0.000 0.0
2009 BOS AL 32 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 0.0
2010 BOS AL 32 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0.000 0.0
2011 BOS AL 31 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 0.0
2012 BOS AL 33 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 0.0
2013 BOS AL 33 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.000 0.0
2014 BOS AL 21 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 0.0
2014 OAK AL 11 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 0.0
2015 CHC NL 32 62 6 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 30 0.065 -787.6
2016 CHC NL 33 59 3 6 3 0 0 6 0 6 18 0.102 -553.5
2017 CHC NL 32 54 5 8 3 0 1 6 1 4 26 0.148 -381.3
2018 CHC NL 34 59 4 7 0 0 1 9 0 0 22 0.119 -605.3
2019 CHC NL 32 48 6 9 2 0 1 6 0 5 20 0.188 -220.2
2020 CHC NL 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0.0
2021 STL NL 12 20 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 2 11 0.150 0.0
2021 WAS NL 18 28 3 5 0 0 1 3 0 0 13 0.179 0.0

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 0.048

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 0.000
2017 NLCS CHN 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.500
2017 NLDS2 CHN 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
2016 NLDS1 CHN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000
2016 NLCS CHN 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.000
2016 WS CHN 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000
2015 NLDS1 CHN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
2015 NLCS CHN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000
2014 ALWC OAK 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2013 WS BOS 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
2013 ALDS1 BOS 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
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 WS BOS 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
2007 ALCS BOS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .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

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 SLN P 12 12 4 7 0 0
2021 WAS P 16 16 5 10 0 1

Career Games by 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 September
2016 Pitcher of the Month June
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