CHICAGO -- When Jon Lester made his way to the front row on stage at Cubs Convention during Friday night’s opening ceremonies, he found himself standing in front of Travis Wood (wearing a vest with no shirt underneath) and John Lackey. Lester saw his chance to get a friendly jab in at his old teammates.
“I said, ‘Hey, I got my name on my seat,’” Lester quipped. “I thought that was pretty cool.”
The seat was reserved for Lester not only as part of the start of this year’s 10-year celebration of the 2016 World Series champions, but as one of the newest members of the Cubs Hall of Fame. Lester said he was struggling to come up with words to describe the honor, putting him in an exclusive class with the franchise’s all-time greats.
When Lester signed a six-year, $155 million deal with the Cubs prior to the '15 season, former manager Joe Maddon said the team had “won the baseball lottery.” It was a culture-shifting deal that helped usher the franchise out of a rebuild and into a period of winning that included five postseason trips and a World Series title that ended the team’s 108-year drought.
On the eve of the convention, the bulk of the '16 team -- players, coaches, staff and front office, including former Cubs executive Theo Epstein -- gathered at Wrigley Field for a private celebration.
“Ten years seems like a long time. In my mind, it was yesterday,” Lester said. “You come back and you see guys and you're like, ‘Oh yeah, I remember that dude. That dude got that out in this game.’ Memories start flowing. So, it’s awesome to get back and see these guys and be a part of it. The Cubs did a great job.”
Only a handful of players from that team were unable to attend the reunion, which included the lockers in the clubhouse having their jerseys and name plates. Even a couple of active players -- Kyle Schwarber and Javier Báez -- made it into town for Thursday’s event. A significant portion of the group, including Maddon and former catcher and manager David Ross, were on hand for Friday’s ceremonies.
Lester cracked a smile when asked what it was like to have the group back together.
“Probably a little bit too good of a time,” he said. “Sat around, talked, hung out. All that stuff. It was good. It was actually very low key, but it was awesome. It fit our group.”
Lester will be inducted into the Cubs Hall of Fame during the '26 season, and the lefty more than earned his place among the team’s all-time icons.
Lester racked up 77 wins with a 3.64 ERA in 171 starts, including at least 31 in five straight years. He was an All-Star in '16 and '18, finishing as the runner-up for the National League Cy Young Award in '16 with 19 wins and a 2.44 ERA. He also had a 2.44 ERA in 12 career playoff games for the Cubs, taking the ball in a Game 1 six times and working three innings in the Game 7 World Series clincher in Cleveland.
“I’m excited. I get a cool new jacket,” Lester said. “I get to walk on stage with all the great Cubs legends. Some that I grew up watching. Some that were a little bit before that time, but still legends that you hear about. Right now, I don’t know how to articulate that [feeling].”