Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester's autograph is on this baseball, donated by the Pawtucket Red Sox.


The Boston Red Sox drafted Lester in the second round (No. 57 overall) of the 2002 First Year Players Draft and gave him the highest signing bonus of any second-rounder that year, $1 million.


Lester quickly moved through the Red Sox organization, posting an 11-6 record, a league-leading 2.61 ERA and a league-best 163 strikeouts for the AA Portland Sea Dogs in 2005. He was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Year and Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year and was selected as the left-handed pitcher on the Eastern League's year-end All-Star team and on the year-end Topps AA All-Star squad.


Lester has been one of the Red Sox top rated prospects since he signed with the team. Before the 2004 season the Texas Rangers insisted he be a part of a proposed deal for Alex Rodriguez. The Sox also refused to make him a part of a deal for Josh Beckett before the 2006 season despite insistence from the Florida Marlins.


With a rash of injuries and general ineffectiveness of several Red Sox starters, the team called up the prized lefty on June 10 2006 to make his major league debut against the Texas Rangers. On July 27, Lester became an official MLB rookie.


With a Major League record of 7-2, and an ERA of 4.76 on August 27th, 2006 Lester was scratched from his scheduled start against the Oakland Athletics due to a sore back. The following day he was placed on the 15 day disabled list (retroactive to August 24th, 2006), and was sent back to Boston for testing. At the time, Lester's back problems were thought to be the result of a car crash he was involved in on August 18th, 2006. On August 31st it was reported that Lester had been diagnosed with enlarged lymph nodes and was being tested for a variety of ailments, including forms of cancer. On September 1st, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital confirmed that Lester has a treatable form of anaplastic large cell lymphoma.