How is it that a major league pitcher that can throw above 90 MPH for a strike, can’t seem to make an accurate throw off the mound to first base?
What makes it even worse is that he’s a lefty. Yes, a lefty! Which means all he has to do is take his foot off the rubber and simply throw the ball to first base. No full body turn is needed, yet he still struggles with this very routine aspect of being a major league pitcher.
Yes, Mr. Jon Lester, I’m talking about you!
So why is it that the Left-handed ace for the Chicago Cubs, who finished second in the 2016 NL CY Young race, can’t seem to get a grip on this problem?
Runners have even become so bold as to take a lead from first base that stretches about a third of the way to second base, because they feel that Lester lacks enough confidence to attempt a pick-off throw; which granted, Lester has picked a few of these runners off, but for the most part Lester ignores the runner and just concentrates on the hitter.
I just can’t fathom how someone as talented as Lester could struggle with something as routine as throwing to first base. It’s like a storyline to a movie that the audience is all waiting to be resolved, but the movie never seems to end.
Lester has pitched in front of thousands of screaming fans in high-pressure situations throughout his career, so I don’t think the problem has to do with fear; and I’m pretty sure we can rule out any sort of curse due to the fact that the Cubs no longer suffer from the infamous “curse of the goat.”
The only scenario that I can imagine is that when he was younger maybe he blew a big game with a throwing error, which ended up losing his team the game, as well as his own confidence.
I have yet to see an interview or see any evidence to support this theory, but if the truth ever comes out as to why exactly Lester is unable to consistently throw to first base, and my theory is right, just remember who called it.
The Cubs coaching staff is now working with Lester on a “bounce pass” that is supposed to reduce the number of throwing errors. From the way it sounds, it’s not going to look very pretty or “baseball-like,” but all Lester cares about is recording outs.
“I don’t really care what it looks like,” Lester said in an article for the Chicago Tribune. “I don’t care if it bounces 72 times over there. An out’s an out. It goes down as a 1-3 or a 1-6 or a 1-4.”
I 100% agree with Lester. An out will always be an out. I could care less how many nay Sayers doubt Lester and belittle him. An out will always be an out.
That being said, if Lester does plan on using the “bounce pass” to first base he needs to prepare himself for the criticism to come.
Regardless of how well Lester is able to hold runners at first, runners should still keep in mind that Cubs Catcher Willson Contreras has an absolute rocket for an arm and certainly won’t hesitant at all to throw the ball down to first base.
Contreras is going into his second season as Lester’s catcher, and despite the fact that it took former Cubs catcher David Ross some time to learn how to handle Lester’s aggression, don’t be surprised to see the relationship between Lester and Contreras grow substantially over the course of this season.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-jon-lester-throwing-problems-20180304-story.html
