On what was certainly one of the busiest days of his life, Jon Lester made sure to make time for his fans.
The ace southpaw announced Wednesday he'd be signing with the Chicago Cubs, ending months of speculation as to where he'd land. The deal is for six years and $155 million, and the $25.8 million per year average will make Lester the second highest paid pitcher in MLB (Clayton Kershaw is first at $30.7 million per year). By joining the Cubs, Lester could immediately change the fortunes of one of the most snakebitten franchises in professional sports.
As would be expected, many baseball fans took to Twitter to express their opinions. Some wished Lester well, some expressed disappointment that he didn't sign with their team and others ridiculed him for signing with a club that hasn't won a championship in more than a century.
Lester, who has proven himself a class act, took the time to personally respond to many of these fans. By one tally, he had exceeded 200 individualized responses.
Here are some of Lester's responses:
@mrspedroia sorry Lilly, please hang in there and crush your finals!
— Jon Lester (@JLester31) December 11, 2014
@Emily_R_Ford That's certainly one way to look at it! Sorry you feel that way Emily!
— Jon Lester (@JLester31) December 11, 2014
@ferrari_king Thanks Nick, means a lot!
— Jon Lester (@JLester31) December 11, 2014
@_robbeee Thx Robbie really appreciate it!
— Jon Lester (@JLester31) December 11, 2014
@KickKids Gonna turn that around buddy don't you worry!
— Jon Lester (@JLester31) December 10, 2014
@anthony_ferraro Thx Anthony, really appreciate it!
— Jon Lester (@JLester31) December 10, 2014
@TheRealBorourke Thanks Brent, I'm pumped!
— Jon Lester (@JLester31) December 10, 2014
@mgriffin_kmov haha gonna have to change that!
— Jon Lester (@JLester31) December 10, 2014
