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Boston Red Sox: Ranking the top 10 players from the 2000s

By Drew Athans

DENVER - OCTOBER 28: The Boston Red Sox celebrate after winning Game Four by a score of the 4-3 to win the 2007 Major League Baseball World Series in a four game sweep of the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on October 28, 2007 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
DENVER - OCTOBER 28: The Boston Red Sox celebrate after winning Game Four by a score of the 4-3 to win the 2007 Major League Baseball World Series in a four game sweep of the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on October 28, 2007 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – JULY 20: Jon Lester #31 of the Boston Red Sox throws in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park on July 20, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JULY 20: Jon Lester #31 of the Boston Red Sox throws in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park on July 20, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /

Jon Lester

The last quality starting pitcher the Red Sox drafted and developed over the last twenty years, Jon Lester is a player that many Sox fans think should’ve spent his entire career in Boston. The big lefty was drafted by the team in 2002 and made his major league debut in 2006. His career was abruptly halted later that season when he was diagnosed with Lymphoma.

After missing the rest of 2006 and the first half of 2007 while making a full recovery, Lester went 4-0 for the Red Sox in the second half of the season and helped them win the World Series. He won the clinching Game Four, pitching 5.2 innings while only giving up three hits, striking out three, and walking three.

For the rest of the decade, Lester was one of the Red Sox top starters and his numbers from 2006 to 2010 prove that out. Over that span, he went 61-25 with a 3.84 ERA, and 712 strikeouts over 766 innings and 123 starts. He was remarkably durable, too, topping 200 innings from 2008-2010.

Unfortunately, the Red Sox tried to play games with his contract as he approached free agency and it cost them when they ended up trading Lester in the middle of the 2014 season. He wasn’t the flashiest pitcher, but Jon Lester was reliable and effective during his time in Boston and has been missed since he’s been gone.

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