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BOSTON -- Jon Lester held court in a media work room at Fenway Park on Wednesday wearing a backward 2007 World Series cap and donning a fleece pullover that had "World Series '07" stitched on it.
But the winner of the clinching Game 4 of the World Series for the Red Sox was on hand to receive an award that transcended not only his own pitching, but the championship accomplishments of his team.
Lester received the 2007 Tony Conigliaro Award, which is given annually to a Major League player who has "overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage."
Back on Aug. 18, 1967, Red Sox right fielder Tony Conigliaro was the victim of a brutal beaning that struck him square in the face. After missing the entire 1968 season, Conigliaro came back to hit 20 homers for the Sox in '69 and another 36 in '70.
Now, there is the story of Lester, whose rookie season of 2006 was cut short after he was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Lester received six chemotherapy treatments before beating the cancer. And the end of his 2007 season was nothing short of storybook.
"It was great," said Lester. "Just with the struggles that I went through this year, just to regain confidence in my stuff and my command and mechanics and where I was at physically, it was great. You couldn't have asked for a better ending. It's always good to go out on top."
The Conigliaro Award started in 1990 -- the same year the slugger died following years of health complications.
Lester confessed not to know all that much about Conigliaro, but the names of past recipients of the award jumped out at him.
"Bo Jackson, Jim Abbott, obviously Mike Lowell is on there," said Lester. "Names like that. Obviously, Jim Abbott had a lot to overcome when he was pitching. It just fits. It's a good honor."
It is an honor that Lester will receive in even more public fashion when he attends the Boston Baseball Writers Dinner on Jan. 17 at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in South Boston.
The award is just one more reminder of Lester's human interest story. Still, Lester looks forward to the day when he's referred to more as a pitcher than a cancer survivor.
"I hope so," said Lester. "I think I'm always going to have that title behind my name. It's going to be a question that comes up regardless, but hopefully, I can just go back to being me and being a normal pitcher and go out and pitch every five days and not have to worry about that, and get questions about my pitching ability rather than what happened last offseason. I know it's going to be a question, but hopefully, it will get few and far between."
Because of everything Lester went through, the Red Sox started him off slowly in 2007 and didn't recall him from the Minor Leagues until July 23. He wound up going 4-0 with a 4.57 ERA in 12 outings, 11 of which were starts.
Lester now acknowledges that he was not always pitching with a full deck.
"I've always been able to throw my fastball by guys and do that, and now, this year, I couldn't do that because I didn't have that little extra at the end, and it showed because I wasn't striking guys out," said Lester. "[It was] more contact and pitching to bats. Hopefully next year I'll have that little extra like I did in September and October and be able to pitch a little bit better and go to my strengths more."
At the start of Spring Training, Lester was at 200 pounds, thanks to all the chemotherapy.
"It was just a constant, uphill battle to get that weight back, and like I said, the confidence in my body and my mechanics to feel comfortable out on the mound," said Lester.
This year's winter agenda is far more enjoyable than chemo.
"Eat -- a lot," said Lester, who is now at roughly 215 pounds. "That's kind of my main objective -- to eat a lot and gain some weight."
It has been a busy offseason for Lester, who purchased a new home in Atlanta.
Why would someone who hails from the Pacific Northwest and pitches for Boston choose Atlanta for his winter nesting ground?
"I've been going down there the last couple of years going hunting with a buddy of mine," said Lester. "I just like the area and the house there just kind of fit what I like."
Lester confides that the moving project hasn't allowed him much time to fully soak in his sweet end to 2007. But still, he has an appreciation for it.
"It's a storybook-type ending," Lester said. "You couldn't ask for a better ending. If you had told me that at the end of last year in Spring Training that we would be in that situation, I probably would have laughed at you. To be a part of it is great. To be a part of it with this team just adds another dimension to it and makes it that much better."
But the winner of the clinching Game 4 of the World Series for the Red Sox was on hand to receive an award that transcended not only his own pitching, but the championship accomplishments of his team.
Lester received the 2007 Tony Conigliaro Award, which is given annually to a Major League player who has "overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage."
Back on Aug. 18, 1967, Red Sox right fielder Tony Conigliaro was the victim of a brutal beaning that struck him square in the face. After missing the entire 1968 season, Conigliaro came back to hit 20 homers for the Sox in '69 and another 36 in '70.
Now, there is the story of Lester, whose rookie season of 2006 was cut short after he was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Lester received six chemotherapy treatments before beating the cancer. And the end of his 2007 season was nothing short of storybook.
"It was great," said Lester. "Just with the struggles that I went through this year, just to regain confidence in my stuff and my command and mechanics and where I was at physically, it was great. You couldn't have asked for a better ending. It's always good to go out on top."
The Conigliaro Award started in 1990 -- the same year the slugger died following years of health complications.
Lester confessed not to know all that much about Conigliaro, but the names of past recipients of the award jumped out at him.
"Bo Jackson, Jim Abbott, obviously Mike Lowell is on there," said Lester. "Names like that. Obviously, Jim Abbott had a lot to overcome when he was pitching. It just fits. It's a good honor."
It is an honor that Lester will receive in even more public fashion when he attends the Boston Baseball Writers Dinner on Jan. 17 at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in South Boston.
The award is just one more reminder of Lester's human interest story. Still, Lester looks forward to the day when he's referred to more as a pitcher than a cancer survivor.
"I hope so," said Lester. "I think I'm always going to have that title behind my name. It's going to be a question that comes up regardless, but hopefully, I can just go back to being me and being a normal pitcher and go out and pitch every five days and not have to worry about that, and get questions about my pitching ability rather than what happened last offseason. I know it's going to be a question, but hopefully, it will get few and far between."
Because of everything Lester went through, the Red Sox started him off slowly in 2007 and didn't recall him from the Minor Leagues until July 23. He wound up going 4-0 with a 4.57 ERA in 12 outings, 11 of which were starts.
Lester now acknowledges that he was not always pitching with a full deck.
"I've always been able to throw my fastball by guys and do that, and now, this year, I couldn't do that because I didn't have that little extra at the end, and it showed because I wasn't striking guys out," said Lester. "[It was] more contact and pitching to bats. Hopefully next year I'll have that little extra like I did in September and October and be able to pitch a little bit better and go to my strengths more."
At the start of Spring Training, Lester was at 200 pounds, thanks to all the chemotherapy.
"It was just a constant, uphill battle to get that weight back, and like I said, the confidence in my body and my mechanics to feel comfortable out on the mound," said Lester.
This year's winter agenda is far more enjoyable than chemo.
"Eat -- a lot," said Lester, who is now at roughly 215 pounds. "That's kind of my main objective -- to eat a lot and gain some weight."
It has been a busy offseason for Lester, who purchased a new home in Atlanta.
Why would someone who hails from the Pacific Northwest and pitches for Boston choose Atlanta for his winter nesting ground?
"I've been going down there the last couple of years going hunting with a buddy of mine," said Lester. "I just like the area and the house there just kind of fit what I like."
Lester confides that the moving project hasn't allowed him much time to fully soak in his sweet end to 2007. But still, he has an appreciation for it.
"It's a storybook-type ending," Lester said. "You couldn't ask for a better ending. If you had told me that at the end of last year in Spring Training that we would be in that situation, I probably would have laughed at you. To be a part of it is great. To be a part of it with this team just adds another dimension to it and makes it that much better."
