Around a month ago, I watched a show on YouTube. In the show, Jon Lester was the guest and he shared the story of his career. Lester played 16 seasons in the majors. He made 451 starts and 1 relief appearance. In his career, he tossed 2740 innings and got 200 wins with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Moreover, he struck out 2488 batters.
Also, the host in the show mentioned Lester’s stats in the postseason and demonstrated that Lester is one the best pitches in the postseason. After watching the show, I was just thinking about what the host said. Furthermore, how great was Lester in the postseason? To solve my doubt, I decided to check on the great Fangraphs and baseball reference website.
Firstly, let’s look at innings pitched. Andy Pettitte led in innings pitched with 276.2 innings. Moreover, Justin Verlander, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz each tossed more than 200 innings in the playoffs. Furthermore, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux and Clayton Kershaw each threw between 190 and 200 innings in the playoffs. Jon Lester threw 154 innings in the postseason and 154 innings rank 10th most in postseason history.
In addition, Jon Lester threw 133 strikeouts in the playoffs, that number is the 10th most in postseason history. So far in postseason history, Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw are the only 2 pitchers who threw more than 200 strikeouts. Moreover, Hall of famer John Smoltz threw 199 strikeouts in the playoffs. Tom Glavine threw 10 more strikeouts than Lester did in the playoffs.
Thirdly, let’s look at the earned run average. Among pitchers who threw at least 100 innings in the playoffs, Mariano Rivera and Christy Mathewson are the only 2 pitchers who owned an ERA below 1. That’s quite incredible. Madison Bumgarner posted a 2.11 ERA over 102.1 innings in the postseason and Curt Schilling threw 133.1 innings in October baseball with a 2.23 ERA. Bob Caruthers and Jon Lester each owned a 2.51 ERA in the postseason.
Finally, let’s look at batting average against. Among pitchers who tossed at least 100 innings in the postseason, again, Mariano Rivera is on the leaderboard and owned a BAA below .200. Also, Madison Bumgarner posted a BAA below .200. Orlando Hernandez posted a .201 BAA in the postseason. Gerrit Cole didn’t pitch in the 2025 postseason. However, there’s no doubt that he’s a great pitcher. Cole has a .201 BAA in the playoffs thus far in his career. Lester didn’t let opponents hit well with a .206 BAA.
Jon Lester announced his retirement in 2022. Looking back at his great career, his performance was certainly impressive. Moreover, looking at his performance in the playoffs, he certainly played a vital role for the Red Sox and the Cubs. He won 2 World Series titles with the Red Sox. Furthermore, the Cubs fans must remember that Lester helped the Cubs end the 108-year World Series drought in 2016. In particular, he made 5 starts and 1 relief appearance for the Cubs. He threw 35.2 innings with a 2.02 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Those moments are certainly unforgettable.
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