'It sucks getting old': Jon Lester on Red Sox, Cubs and his future Hall of Fame prospects
Jon Lester, who retired two years ago after a brilliant career, winning three World Series rings with five All-Star appearances, plans to come to spring training to visit his former teams.
But for now he has no interest in joining a team in an official capacity.
“I’ve bounced around a couple of ideas, spitballing," Lester tells USA TODAY Sports, “but I don’t want to coach and get back in all of that. I don’t want a formal role."
Lester still feels closer to the Chicago Cubs than the Boston Red Sox with friends still working in the organization, but concedes his passion towards the Cubs has slightly waned with the firing of manager David Ross, his former teammate and close friend.
“Talking to some people I understood," Lester says. “I saw Rossy over New Year’s and kind of understood their decision. But you don’t want buddies to lose their job. It sucks. It kind of stung."
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He’s still emotionally invested in the Red Sox, where he won two World Series titles, with former teammate Craig Breslow as their new GM and his former boss, Theo Epstein, joining the Red Sox ownership group.
“It’s tough being the new guy coming in," Lester says. “I’m sure Bres is in a tough spot. I’m sure it will take awhile for him to get his feet under him.
"But we all know the Red Sox won’t be down for long. They’re too smart over there."
The only job he’s interested in now is coaching his sons’ baseball teams in Brookhaven, Georgia
Lester will be on the Hall of Fame ballot in three years, and with a 200-117 career record, 3.66 ERA and 2,488 strikeouts, he’ll certainly receive serious consideration for election.
“You hear all of the hoopla of it," Lester says, ‘but if it happens, it just puts the cherry on top of the privilege I had playing. But it’s not why I played. I played to win. I can sit at home now and see the World Series trophies we won together."
He and good friend Adam Wainwright, who retired a year ago, each ended up with exactly 200 victories on the last start of his career.
“It sucks getting old and all of this nonsense you deal with, but I always kept in touch with him," Lester says. “When he got to 200, I said, 'You better not make another start.' That’s such a cool number. I can’t imagine that too many more guys will get to that number."
Lester is content coaching his oldest son and if there’s ever a day he could be perhaps an advisor or involved in a special assistant role, he might consider it.
“Really, I just miss the competitiveness of it," Lester says. “I don’t miss the grind, the day-to-day and preparing, but I do miss the dinners, the flights, and just the [trash]-talking and all of that stuff."