Red Sox: Jon Lester credits former Boston ace’s work ethic as inspiration

Jon Lester credits another former Red Sox ace for his early career mentality

We’re now some 48 hours or so removed from the announcement that former Red Sox ace Jon Lester was hanging up his cleats. After 16 years in MLB, the big workhorse lefty has decided that it’s the right time for him to ride off into the sunset. While he’s making plenty of media rounds, he made a stop at Barstool Sports’ Section-10 Podcast yesterday, and he shared plenty about his career.

Lester had a stellar nine years with the Red Sox where he developed from a promising starting rotation prospect to an ace before being traded in 2014. During his conversation with the Section-10 fellas, he covered everything from his battle with lymphoma, the beer & chicken incident, his no-hitter, and of course that fateful trade among other topics. One thing that stood out to me was his reverence for his fellow pitcher, Josh Beckett.

Red Sox Nation probably remembers Beckett with mixed feelings. He came over and instantly made an impact as he was the fireballer that helped lead Boston to their second World Championship since 2004, but he also wasn’t the best influence. He often gets a lot of the blame placed on his shoulders for the fried chicken and beers in 2011. But Lester spoke about Josh with such praise and positivity and that’s how I’ll remember Beckett with Boston.

Lester was asked by Jared Carrabis about his debut in 2006 and the southpaw was quick to tell a story of how Terry Francona paired him with Beckett on day one. He spoke about Tito telling him to basically be Beckett’s shadow and mimick everything the righty did in spring training. It’s nothing new to pair a rookie with a veteran but even Lester joked that he didn’t get the warmest welcome from the Texan in their first meeting.

Francona made sure Lester understood that if the right-hander was in the gym, he was to be there with him. If he was working a bullpen session, he was to be tossing right next to him. Pretty smart move by the veteran skipper. Lester credits Beckett greatly in the interview for how his work ethic and mental approach to the game and overall life as a big-league player molded Lester’s approach to his career.

I’ve spent a lot of time since the news came out of Lester’s retirement looking back at his biggest moments in a Red Sox uniform. Hearing that from the get-go he was paired up with Beckett makes so much sense for how his career played out, especially in the Postseason. Josh was a monster when it mattered the most and Lester quickly became a damn clone for Boston when the pressure was its highest.

Whether it was winning the clinching game in the 2007 World Series, or being the ace of the staff in 2013 when the club needed him the most, Jon Lester has earned every flower he’s received over the last two days. I was heartbroken when he was traded in 2014 and again when FSG lowballed him to the point he had no choice but to go elsewhere in free agency.

It’s pretty clear that when you look back at Lester’s career that you can see the impact that Beckett had on him. He’s a guy that approached every game like it was the most important thing that he had to accomplish.

Whether he had a bad outing or was lights-out, he made sure that when he came out of the game his sights were set on that next start. It all comes down to preparation, training, focus, and those were all things that Beckett seemed to show Jon early in his career.

He wasn’t the first homegrown guy that should’ve stayed here forever but was sent away and he surely won’t be the last. Going back over his career and seeing how dominant he was for years after his time with the Red Sox just further digs that knife in a bit deeper. Chaim Bloom and his team find themselves in a similar situation with a few players and hopefully they learn from their predecessor’s mistakes and don’t repeat them.

At the end of the day, Jon Lester was one of the best homegrown pitching talents this organization has seen. He very well may go down in the upper echelon of that category when all is said and done.

As I look back at his career, and specifically what he did as a lefty in this league, I think Cooperstown is very much within reach. Others may not agree with that take and that’s perfectly fine, but it’s hard to argue against a guy with a top-notch resume that delivered for two of the most storied franchises in all of sports.