Red Sox Australia Chapter

Finally we done something!!!😃

Jon Lester, who was a key member of three World Series championship starting rotations, has retired after a 16-year career in which he established himself as one of the top left-handers of his generation, according to an ESPN.com report on Wednesday.

Lester, who turned 38 on Friday, went 200-117 with a 3.66 ERA in 452 career appearances (451 starts) with the Red Sox, A's, Cubs, Nationals and Cardinals. A five-time All-Star, Lester won World Series titles with Boston in 2007 and '13, and famously helped Chicago end its championship drought in 2016.

"It's kind of run its course," Lester told ESPN.com. "It's getting harder for me physically. The little things that come up throughout the year turned into bigger things that hinder your performance.

"I'd like to think I'm a halfway decent self-evaluator. I don't want someone else telling me I can't do this anymore. I want to be able to hand my jersey over and say, 'Thank you, it's been fun.' That's probably the biggest deciding factor."

Lester showed perhaps even more toughness and determination off the field than on the mound. He was diagnosed with anaplastic large T-cell lymphoma in his rookie season in 2006, and returned to the big leagues in July of the next season, picking up a win over Cleveland in his first game back.

"I was in Triple-A on a rehab assignment in Pawtucket after cancer," Lester told ESPN.com. "My parents were there and they were leaving that day or the next day to go home, and I told them they have to change their flight and I said, 'I'm starting the next night in Cleveland.'

"That's one of the top moments of my career. Seeing their faces was pretty cool. Once I got back to baseball, I tried not to take anything for granted and really appreciated being around the guys."

Two years later at Fenway Park, the then-24-year-old tossed a no-hitter against the Royals, becoming the 18th Red Sox pitcher to complete the feat.

Lester picked up his 200th and final win on Sept. 20 in Milwaukee after allowing just two runs and three hits in six innings.

Always remember, while this season will go down as a bit of a near miss for a team that did incredible to achieve what it did… against all expectations… we will always have that win against the Yankees in the first ever meeting between both organisations in a wild card game!

I personally celebrated that day over the next 24 hours harder than I did the last World Series win we had in 2018 (much the way I celebrated beating the Yankees when we reversed the curse in 04, more than winning the World Series a week later).

Yankees vs. Red Sox AL Wild Card Game Highlights (10/5/21) | MLB Highlights Yankees vs. Red Sox AL Wild Card full game highlights from 10/5/21.Don't forget to subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/mlbFollow us elsewhere too:Twitter: htt...

Some reinforcements for the pitching have arrived and the return of JBJ!

As expected. Option for Cora’s contract extended. Great to see the man come back and get his redemption this year. His tale for the season, like a number of the players, was another special piece of a great year. Hopefully can add another World Series ring to go with 2018 during this time ❤️

Red Sox exercise Cora's 2023-24 option The Boston Red Sox on Monday announced that they have exercised Manager Alex Cora’s club option for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom made the announcement. “I am beyond grateful for this opportunity to manage the Red Sox,” said Cora. “We experienced so many speci...

Well, the time is now up for E-Rod’s days at the Red Sox. $77m 5 year contract with Detroit Tigers.

Eduardo was definitely a pitcher I liked personally. When he was on, he was an absolute ace on the mound. But consistency has certainly been an issue, like with much of our pitching the past couple years especially. But for his consistency issues and at that sorta money, allowing him to move on rather than matching it seems like a move that should end up positive from Bloom, who’s done a great job so far while not breaking the bank and building up the farm.

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Red Sox Legends Past And Present Pay Tribute To Jerry Remy From Carl Yastrzemski to David Ortiz and Xander Bogaerts, tributes came from far and wide for beloved Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy.