Stats show David Ross should catch Jon Lester in 2015

There was no doubt that the Cubs would land Jon Lester‘s favorite catcher, David Ross, after both parties agreed on a six-year deal worth $155 million at the beginning of the month.

The chemistry between two players such as Lester and recently signed 38-year-old Ross is something every team needs in order to be successful. It’s not necessarily what will make or break a team, but you could expect nothing short of perfection once a specific duo take the field together- especially if they’re in sync. Just like in any other professional sport, the bond between a pitcher and catcher has to be something special in order for things to work out smoothly.

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In football, teams usually have their starting quarterback and a primary receiver bunking together during training camp to keep whatever they have between them on the field in tact and ready to go. We’ve seen guys such as Peyton Manning/Marvin Harrison, Johnny Unitas/Raymond Berry, Joe Montana/Jerry Rice, Brett Favre/Antonio Freeman, Dan Marino/Mark Clayton and Jim Kelly/Andre Reed become some of the greatest quarterback/wide receiver combos in the history of professional football all because of chemistry between the two.

Then you have guys such as Lefty Grove/Mickey Cochrane, Cy Young/Chief Zimmer, Tom Seaver/Johnny Bench, Adam Wainwright/Yadier Molina and, of course, the Chicago Cubs’ own Mordecai Brown/Johnny Kling among the best duos in baseball history. Not to mention anyone who was behind the plate when Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan were on the mound.

Now both Lester and Ross haven’t worked together nearly as long as the men listed above, but stats from 2013 have shown that they enjoy working together. Twenty-nine of the 86 games that David Ross had started with Red Sox just so happened to be when Lester was dealing.

In those 29 contests, Lester posted a 2.77 ERA and continued to improve in the postseason with a solid 1.33 ERA across four starts. Needless to say, postseason play is something that the Cubs and their fans are hoping to see from these two in the upcoming year.

Manager Joe Maddon will more than likely use Ross as Lester’s primary catcher and hand the majority of the playing time to Miguel Montero. With Welington Castillo being the odd-man out, don’t be surprised if he’s dealt within the next month or two.

Next: Cubs should consider Fuld over Swisher, Gomes

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