With three world championships, Jon Lester is probably one of the most successful baseball players in the MLB. He is also a four-time All-Star and the MVP of the NLCS 2016. Surprisingly, Lester’s exploits in baseball came after he was diagnosed with lymphoma that threatened to end his career. Fortunately, however, cancer could be treated with chemotherapy, and by the end of 2006, Lester was officially in remission. Since then, he has dedicated his time and resources to cancer research.
Jon Lester’s Bio (Age)
Jonathan Tyler Lester was born in Tacoma, Washington on January 7, 1984, and grew up in Puyallup, Washington. His athletic side showed up very early in life. He played on the baseball team while attending the Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, Washington. He was a three-time MVP and received the Gatorade State Player of the Year award for Washington in 2000.
Lester was drafted into the 2002 MLB draft right after high school. He was selected in the second round with the 57th overall selection. He started with the Portland Sea Dogs in Minor League Baseball and quickly became the highest-rated candidate for the Boston Red Sox. Lester made his Major League debut on June 10, 2006, in a game against the Texas Rangers.
In August 2006, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a back injury. Lester had initially believed the wound was caused by a car accident in which he was involved in early August, but further findings revealed that he had inflamed lymph nodes that turned out to be cancerous.
Fortunately, he was treated with chemotherapy and in December 2006, Lester became cancer-free. And shortly after his life passed before his eyes, Lester was back on the pitch. After a few rehab trips on Greenville Drive and the Pawtucket Red Sox, Lester was called back to the Major League in July 2007.
Later that year, Lester was awarded the Tony Conigliaro Prize in honor of his successful fight against cancer. On May 19, 2008, Lester entered the history books by beating a no-hitter in a game against the Kansas City Royals. He would come to win his second World Series with the team in 2013.
After his contract with the Sox expired, Lester spent a short time with the Oakland Athletics before joining the Chicago Cubs in 2015.
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Jon Lester Salary and Net Worth
Jon Lester has the millions to show for his successful baseball career. When the Boston Red Sox selected him in the second round of the 2002 MLB draft, he received a $1 million signature bonus. That was the highest signing bonus in every other round this year.
As his performance increased, so did his income. In March 2009, Lester was committed to a five-year contract extension for $30 million, with a team option for $14 million until it expires in 2014.
In late 2014, Jon Lester joined the Chicago Cubs with a $155 million 6-year contract and was named to the Forbes 2015 list of highest-paid baseball players with a $30 million salary. His total income for the year was $30.4 million, with $400,000 coming from his sponsors, most notably Nike.
Lester’s annual earnings made him the second-highest-paid baseball player of the year, beaten by Clayton Kershaw, who earned $31.2 million. Lester’s contract gives him an average salary of $25.8 million. The contract also includes an option for 2021, which brings the total to $170 million. Jon Lester’s net worth is estimated at $50 million.
Who is Jon Lester’s Wife?
Lester was on Minor League Greenville Drive in Greenville, South Carolina, working on his rehabilitation from cancer. During that time in South Carolina, he met a nurse named Farrah Stone Johnson. And although his time in Greenville was short, it was long enough for him to start a relationship with Farrah.
After two years of dating, the couple entered into a marriage on January 9, 2009. They have two sons, Hudson and Walker, born in 2010 and 2013 respectively, and a daughter, Cy Elizabeth, born November 29, 2016. Lester later made it clear that his daughter’s choice of name in no way referred to the Top Baseball Pitching Prize.
Lester’s wife often shares cute snapshots of the family on social media. The family lives in Chicago in a house that Lester bought for $3.7 million shortly after he closed his big deal with the Cubs.
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Stats and Other Facts About Jon Lester
In June 2018, Lester’s MLB career statistics were as follows;
Earned run average: 3.47
Strikeouts: 2,107
Win-loss record: 166–94
1. Lester won the 2016 Babe Ruth Award
2. 2008, two years after his own cancer diagnosis, his father John Lester was diagnosed with lymphoma Lester explained that it was slow-growing cancer that would most likely accompany him for the rest of his life rather than kill him.
3. As a wine lover, Lester owns his own wine line under the Longball Cellars brand. The wine line is operated in partnership with Charity Wines.
4. As part of his contributions to cancer research, Lester and his wife founded NVRQT, short for “Never Quit”.
5. Lester loves to hunt in his spare time.
