Joe Maddon channels Tony La Russa, bats Jon Lester 8th in Opening Day lineup
Maddon bats Lester 8th (he's 0-for-36 lifetime)
Historically, seeing a pitcher bat eighth in a Cardinals game is no rare sight thanks to the quirks of former skipper Tony La Russa. But that pitcher isn't usually playing against the Cardinals and he usually isn't an American League pitcher with exactly zero MLB hits to his credit.
When the Cubs and Cardinals officially kick off the 2015 MLB season on Sunday night, the Cubbies lineup will be the exception, not the rule.
New Cubs manager and apparent mad baseball scientist Joe Maddon announced the starting lineup for his first game at the helm of the Cubbies and has starting pitcher Jon Lester slated to bat eighth.
#OpeningNight is finally here. #LetsGo pic.twitter.com/i0EmGxikNe
- Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 5, 2015Lester has never pitched for an NL team. He's accumulated all of 36 MLB at-bats and earned a hit in none of them.
Never change, Joe Maddon. Never change.