A little more than a year removed from being diagnosed with cancer, Jon Lester doesn’t feel that adds to the significance of his start tonight in Game 4 of the World Series.
Others feel differently.
“The significance of it is special for every cancer victim that’s out there,” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said Saturday. “There’s a battle that can be on your hands, but there’s a battle that can be fought, and just as importantly, there’s a battle that could be won.”
Lester, a 23-year-old left-hander, and his Boston teammates would rather talk about the extra zip that he’s found lately with his fastball. Or that under the guidance of noted bulldogs Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett, he’s learning some of the nuances of winning in the major leagues.
“I think Jon is a smart enough young man to know that when he steps on the mound, it’s all about beating the other team,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “It makes for a wonderful story that people want to write about, which I understand, but it’s about him beating the Rockies.”
Lester hasn’t lost to anyone this season for Boston, going 4-0 in 11 starts. Lester made two appearances, with mixed results, in the American League Championship Series against Cleveland. In the first, he allowed two runs in just two-thirds of an inning in Boston’s 13-6 Game 2 loss. In Game 4 at Cleveland, Lester pitched a scoreless three innings.
He’s getting the start, in part, because of the shoulder and back troubles that have sidelined knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Some, like Hurdle, looked at the circumstance of Lester starting against Colorado’s Aaron Cook, who has made his own comeback from blood clots, and saw something special. Lester disagreed.
“It was unfortunate that Tim went down, and I guess I just filled in his spot,” Lester said. “I don’t think there’s anything special about it. I’m just trying to look at it as another start, trying not to look at it as anything extra than that.
“I don’t think I’m any different than anybody else. It just so happens that I play baseball and we’re in the World Series and we’re on a big stage.”
During his rookie season a year ago, Lester was 7-2 for Boston. However, in August, he was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a blood cancer. He began treatment the following month. After spring training, Lester began the season in the minors, first getting called up to the big club in July.
As the 2007 season has gone on, Lester has shown more of the talent that led the Red Sox to select him in the second round of the 2002 draft.
“The last six weeks or so, the ball is really starting to come out of his hand like the reports we got in ’05,” Francona said. “Even last year, when Jon came to the big leagues, there’s no way of knowing when (the cancer) started to be a factor in his pitching.
“The last six weeks, the ball is starting to come out of his hand again; I think in the future, you’re looking at a young, sturdy left-hander with a real clean delivery that we think can be a good starter for a long time.”
In other words, not a novelty, not an inspiration, but a ballplayer, period – albeit one making the biggest start of his career.
“It really hasn’t hit home yet,” Lester said. “I’m sure when I wake up and realize that I’m pitching that I’ll start thinking about it and getting nervous.”
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
