Whether you're a Red Sox fan or not, you could even be a Yankees fan, and you can still enjoy the story of Jon Lester.

    Jon Lester was born on January 7th, 1984 in Washington
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  state. He was originally drafted in the second round in 2002, as the 57th overall pick. 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 LeagueTopps 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.

    After a bunch of injuries last year, Lester was called up to the big leagues and had a pretty successful season, after being called up in June. Lester went 7-2 with 60 K's and had an ERA of 4.76.

 The following day he was placed on the 15 day due to a sore back. On August 27th, 2006 Lester was scratched from his scheduled start against the Oakland Athleticsdisabled 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.

    After months of difficult treatment, on December 5, 2006, ESPN.com reported that Lester's latest CT Scan showed no signs of the disease, which now appears to be in remission. Lester attended spring camp in 2007, and on March 5, 2007, he made his first appearance in a game. He retired all 3 batters he faced, with a total of 8 pitches. He started the 2007 season for the class A Greenville Drive. Lester then started for AAA Pawtucket Red Sox in late April, 2007. As of June 11, Lester was removed from the disabled list, and sent to Pawtucket for further rehab outings.

  On Sunday, July 22nd, Terry Francona anounced that Lester would be called up from AAA and make his first start Monday the 23rd against the Cleveland Indians. It has been a difficult journey back but Jon Lester has done it and everyone wishes him the best luck.