Chicago Cubs: Top 10 single-season pitching performances (Part II)

Chicago Cubs’ Jon Lester: 2016

The above image should say it all. A face of intensity, a true leader, and one of the best starting pitchers to ever wear a Cubs uniform, Jon Lester embodies everything it means to play on the north side of Chicago. He is a proven winner with a proven track record of success. He is also one of the most unassumingly intense guys you will ever meet.

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When Theo Epstein arrived to lead the Cubs, the connection between him and Lester lingered, fostered from their time when the young lefty helped lead Boston to two world championships. Fast forward to 2016, Lester’s second year in Chicago. Coming off a strong season the year before, Lester continued to impress at the wise age of 32 years old.

It should be argued to be the best year of his career. During a dominant year all around, culminating in a World Series championship, who could expect any less from the kid from the Pacific Northwest. Helping lead how he knows how, Lester made 32 starts, finishing 19-5 with a 2.44 ERA. He finished only behind Max Scherzer for the National League Cy Young.

Kicking off his season in style, Lester posted quality starts in seven of his first eight starts, pitching at least seven innings in four of his starts. His first eye-opening game of the year came on June 1 against the Dodgers, where Lester finished off a complete game. He allowed a run and struck out ten. It sparked a string of six straight starts, in which he went 5-1 with a 1.41 ERA, striking out 43 hitters over 44 2/3 innings.

Impressively, Lester pitched to an insane 0.96 ERA from July 29 to September 25, recording a .225 OBP and a .183 batting average against. In the 75 1/3 innings, Lester allowed only three home runs.

The postseason was not much different, which remains a primary reason the Cubs won the World Series. Over the first three starts, Lester posted a 0.48 ERA across 21 innings, winning two games. In a gritty Game 5 of the World Series, he pitched well enough to keep Chicago in the game, finishing with a quality start over six innings.

In a pivotal Game 7, Lester came in for Kyle Hendricks and twirled three innings, allowing two unfortunate runs to cross, however, did his job and bore down when he needed. Lester recorded a 3.68 ERA in the series and remained as an integral part of the team and a finish that shocked the world and broke the curse. For Cubs fans, imaging Lester anywhere else is a tough pill to swallow. Thank goodness he is with the good guys.

Final thoughts

As many can see, there are a ton of pitchers who at one point in their career made their special impact in Chicago. While some of the starters never saw ultimate success in their careers, for a shining season they experienced the exceptional nature of sustained success and an understanding of how to lead.

It can be argued for hours about the amount of ‘qualified’ names to grace this list. However, each guy represented carried their weight in, and fans can certainly respect and embrace that measure. As the future is on the horizon, we need to continue to appreciate the likes of Lester, Kyle Hendricks, and Yu Darvish before it’s too late.