Jon Lester’s longevity a product of adaptation

When a fresh-faced Jon Lester arrived in the big leagues in 2006, catcher Jason Varitek had high expectations for the 22-year-old Boston Red Sox rookie. 

The left-handed hurler was the young gun on an experienced pitching staff, and Varitek pushed Lester to be more like his peers, even though some were 17 years his senior.

Now, Lester is the grizzled veteran — a three-time World Series champ and five-time All-Star entering his 16th major league season, joining the Washington Nationals on a one-year deal with a resume not usually associated with fourth starters.

Much of that prolonged success can be traced to Varitek, the backstop who prodded Lester down a path of continual reinvention. Lester learned as a young pitcher that the best way to stay competitive at the highest level of the game was through adaptation — and as he’s aged, Lester combats the inevitable dip in velocity with differing approaches, such as incorporating a change-up he once rarely threw.

“I think that’s what drove me to every day try to get better at something, whether it be command of a certain side of the plate or a pitch or whatnot,” Lester said. “You just have to learn to evolve. You have to learn how to get outs.”

The 37-year-old Lester has been a fixture of durability over his long career. He’s started at least 31 games in each of his last 12 full seasons, and he still soaked up innings in the coronavirus-shortened 2020 campaign.

Lester would like to credit his work ethic for that reliability to take the mound every fifth day, but he admitted there might be some luck involved, too. There’s also that adaptability, the changes to his game that keeps hitters off balance after all this time.

Compared to 2018, Lester’s fastball has lost almost 2 mph. He used to throw his four-seamer 45.5% of the time, according to Baseball Savant, but Lester’s methodology has changed considerably over the last two seasons.

He now throws his cutter more than the four-seam fastball. His change-up, used as little as 4.9% of the time in 2016, made up 13.5% of his pitches in 2020 — with a whiff rate of 31%. He deployed his sinker and curveball more regularly as well, creating an evenly balanced five-pitch arsenal.

Even though his ERA inflated to 5.16 last year, Lester showed his old command in spurts. He allowed one or fewer runs in six starts, offset by five or more runs in five other starts.

“As you get older, things kind of slow down. Your velocity slows down. You start relying on other pitches that you might not have at an earlier age,” Lester said. “At an earlier age, I never really threw my change-up. And now my change-up has become more of a weapon that I use more frequently.”

Lester is on the mound earlier than usual ahead of spring training, working to improve his flexibility and strength to continue producing at this point in his career. He’s excited to join Washington, filling out a rotation full of veteran arms — Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Stephen Strasburg.

The Tacoma, Washington, native received a contract offer to remain with the Chicago Cubs “right down at the nitty gritty,” but he decided the Nationals offered the best fit. Lester reunites with several familiar faces from his time in Chicago, such as manager Dave Martinez, pitching coach Jim Hickey and left fielder Kyle Schwarber.

Plus, Lester’s joining what he hopes is an October contender.

“I still have the drive to win,” Lester said. “I want to bring another ring to D.C.”

Lester knows he won’t be the ace on a staff anymore, and he’s more than fine with that. He’s eager to watch Scherzer, Strasburg and Corbin work, acting as a “fly on the wall” to pick up tips he might add to his own pregame regimen or on-field procedure.

Because even after all this time, the influence of Varitek, his first catcher, remains. Lester is never finished tinkering with his game, seeking an edge 16 years into an already illustrious career.

“As you get older, and as it gets harder as you get older, you try to make getting outs easier if you can, if that makes sense,” Lester said. “It’s just an evolving thing, and something I’m learning every day.”