May 19. Kansas City at Boston.
I never really saw what was so special about Jon Lester. He was molasses and walked too many people. In fact, I recall thinking on the night of May 19 that I could tune into the House finale and only have missed an inning or so when I went back to the ballgame.
I must not have been paying close attention to the game because I didn't realize what was happening until the sixth inning. When I watch baseball on t.v. I run the sportsline scoreboard on the computer to keep an eye on all of the other scores, in the sixth inning of that ballgame I looked down at the clock to see if it was time to change the channel and it wasn't; it wasn't even close to 9:00. I refreshed the page a couple of times in disbelief and went so far as to open another box score to make sure it was right. And then? Then Jon Lester had my attention. The game actually ended before House was over and I could have watched most of the second half but I didn't.
It was either Remy or Orsillo that, at a later point in the season, said Lester was chameleon-like and the game he had thrown two starts previous to the no-hitter against Halladay had an incredibly positive influence on Lester, as Lester was being Halladay for that game. Perhaps they were right and it was Halladay's influence that set him straight. Regardless, at that point a new Lester seemed to exist. Obviously, people smarter than myself had seen what he could and would be long before I recognized it but my attitude toward Lester changed that night. Lester's starts went from being a chore to being something to look forward to. And I don't think I'm the only one.
So, for Jon Lester and his family, Terry and company, and what it meant to all of them, Jon Lester's no-hitter takes spot three.
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