One of the best postseason pitchers in recent major league history is calling it quits.
Former Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs left-hander Jon Lester announced his MLB retirement Wednesday morning, telling ESPN’s Jesse Rogers his body can longer hold up over a full MLB season.
NEWS at ESPN: 3-time World Series champion Jon Lester is retiring. I spoke with him and others in his orbit.
Dustin Pedroia: âAnytime he had the ball in a big game, you were going in for an 80-minute massage. You were in good hands.â
Story here: https://t.co/4gQlF56G6g— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) January 12, 2022
“I’d like to think I’m a halfway decent self-evaluator,” Lester told Rogers. “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.”
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Lester split the 2021 season between the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals, posting a 4.71 ERA over 141.1 innings at age 37. But the lefty hurler is best known for helping both the Red Sox and Cubs win World Series titles with a grit and resolve that translated to stellar postseason numbers.
A second-round draft pick of the Red Sox in 2002, Lester overcame a battle with lymphoma as a rookie in 2006 and a year later pitched 5.2 shutout innings in…
