“Getting harder for me physically” – Jon Lester bids adieu to MLB after 16 seasons

“Getting harder for me physically” – Jon Lester bids adieu to MLB after 16 seasons

Jon Lester

America’s baseball pitcher Jon Lester has announced his retirement from MLB Wednesday, bringing his stellar 16-year run to an end. The 38-year-old is a three-time World Series champion and was amongst the three active players with 200 career wins where Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke are the remaining two.

The Washington native Lester spent time with the Athletics (2014), Nationals and Cardinals (2021), but he’ll forever be known for being associated with the Red Sox (2006-14) and the Cubs (2015-20).

“It’s kind of run its course,” Lester said upon his retirement, via ESPN. “It’s getting harder for me physically. The little things that come up throughout the year turned into bigger things that hinder your performance.

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“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,” he added.

“Lester walks through his career’s path”

Jon Lester has been one of the best left-handed pitchers of all time without any doubt. The southpaw is one of nine in the modern era to win 200 games and have a career ERA under 4.00. However, his breakthrough came in 2016, when the Cubs broke the curse and won their first World Series since 1908.

“I remember the nervous feeling I had before Game 4 of the World Series in 2007,” Lester stated. “I remember standing on the mound in Game 5 against St. Louis in 2013, in a tied series, and an [paper] airplane got thrown from the upper deck that lands right behind the mound. I still remember looking at that.

“And then the turmoil of Game 7 in 2016 [when the Cubs won in extra innings].”

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