More than a game

For those of you who do not see baseball as more than a game, I submit to you Jon Lester's improbably no-hitter from last night.

For those who don't know, Lester was an impressive Rookie starting midway through the 2006 season, but was then diagnosed with cancer. He had a slow recovery whose end was marked completed by his start and win in the final game of the World Series last October. Last night's no-hitter was the last piece of proof that he is back and better than ever.

It's moments like last night that prove that baseball is so much more than a game and means more beyond just who wins and loses. I cannot say it as well as the published writers can, so here are a few excerpts from some columns and blogs I've been reading off Boston.com.

Dan Shaughnessy writes:
“All of New England will cherish the moment. It's storybook stuff. Seven months after winning the final game of the World Series, the 24-year-old kid who survived cancer pitches a no-hitter at Fenway Park.”

From the Boston Sports Blog, Eric Wilber put Lester's career accomplishments into perspective, as well as juxtaposed them against the Red Sox minor leaguer whose cancer diagnoses was publicized three days ago, and that Lester is an imspiration for him, as well as the rest of us:

“What Lester means for the Red Sox, Boston, and cancer patients around the world is something special. Surely there are survivors in other ways of life, movie stars, teachers, family members, who serve as motivation for others. But athletes seem to carry that torch a bit more prevalently in the spotlight, using their body to make a career, the same body once feared to have failed them in life...

“Lester may grow weary of the constant questions of cancer that he's asked, wanting surely to look ahead, not back, but never will he tire of the accomplishments he's already achieved in his career. His determination and success can't be easily quantified for those in a similar battle, seeking a little bit of a lift. Jon Lester beat cancer. Jon Lester won a World Series-clinching game. Jon Lester threw a no-hitter.”

From Chad Finn's Touching All The Bases:

“Let me ask you this on a glorious morning after, Red Sox fans: Is there anyone else in franchise history you'd rather this happened to? I cannot think of another name...

“One of the great ancillary joys of winning last autumn's World Series was watching Lester deliver the defining performance of his career in the clinching Game 4, just 10 months after completing his cancer treatments. It was the ultimate capper to his comeback, the most heartwarming scene in this feel-good movie. Now he owns two signature performances in his young career, and even the saccharine souls at Disney have to be wondering if this guy's for real...

“It's impossible to exaggerate how meaningful this is. The Red Sox, to their eternal credit, are downright heroic in their contributions to the fight against cancer with their longstanding relationship with Dana Farber and the Jimmy Fund. Every time Lester takes the mound from now until the final pitch his career, he will stand tall as a hero and an inspiration to those scared children getting treatment just a few blocks from Fenway. He could throw a half-dozen more no-hitters, and his status as a survivor would remain his greatest legacy.

“On a much lesser scale, this is one of those occurrences that reaffirms your commitment as a fan at a time when such dedication is often assailed and ridiculed. As one longtime correspondent put it in an email not long after Lester's final pitch last night:
For anyone out there who can't understand the emotion that we sports fans put into any given team's season, this is why we watch sports. Moments like this make it all worthwhile.

“Weird game, baseball. It's why we love it. You just never know when something magical will happen. Though when Jon Lester's on the mound, it seems the odds are better than with most.”