-Two years after beating cancer Jon Lester throws a no-hitter
Tonight is the 2009 MLB Homerun Derby, so it is only natural to remember what Texas Ranger outfielder Josh Hamilton did last year in Yankees Stadium. In the 2008 Homerun Derby Hamilton mesmerized the sports world with his performance by setting a new single round record by hitting 28 homers in the first round. It was not just the number of homers Hamilton hit but the story that was behind Hamilton that almost everyone knows by now.
This is not meant to be another glorification of how Hamilton turned his life around to get back to playing baseball after almost ruining his life. Too many of those articles have already been written. My issue is how much love Hamilton got after the Homerun Derby. There is something wrong when people have to first almost ruin their lives before people with love them. Hamilton’s story is a great redemption story and can inspire almost anyone who hears it. But it was Hamilton who ruined his own life in the first place. No one else made him use alcohol and drugs the way he did.
There are great baseball players who have performed at the highest level without ever having done anything nearly as wrong as Hamilton did. St. Louis Cardinal first baseman Albert Pujols is probably the best player I have ever seen in my life. In his first eight and a half seasons he has 351 career homers, a batting average of .334, an OPS of 1.057, 1,064 RBI, 1,020 runs and has 767 walks to 541 strikeouts. Pujols has done all of that while winning the Rookie of the Year Award, one World Series, two MVPs, three Silver Sluggers Award, one Gold Glove and has been elected to eight All-Star Games. This from a former 13th round draft pick out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and strangely enough has virtually zero negative storylines attached to him.
Then there is Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester. Lester was drafted in the second round of the 2002 MLB draft and made his major league debut in 2006. At the time he was the number one pitching prospect in the Red Sox farm system and went 7-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 15 starts in 2006. Then he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in August of the same year. Imagine a 22-year-old kid who just made his MLB debut is told ‘you have cancer.’ Just like Pujols, Lester has done nothing but the right things. No bad press and no controversial statements or actions.
Lester fought through cancer and returned to the mound in 2007. That year he went 4-0 in 11 starts with a 4.57 ERA, but it was clear he had not regained his strength. He was the winning pitcher in game four of the 2007 World Series that clinched the title over the Colorado Rockies, but his big career highlight came the next year. On May 20 Lester threw a no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals. This just less than two years after being diagnosed with cancer.
Lester is starting to get recognized for what he has accomplished. Nike has recently debuted a commercial where Lester talks about his trials battling cancer and made him part of their famous Livestrong campaign. Lester will use a special Livestrong glove for the rest of the 2009 season. That is a long time coming for someone who has done everything right even when presented with huge difficulties not created by himself. Hamilton has a great story, but I think Pujols and Lester should be celebrated greater than the Ranger slugger.
-Source espn.go.com
