Certainly no one expects much from Jon Lester at the plate. He's a pitcher who spent his entire career in the American League before joining the Chicago Cubs this season. Still, Lester held the dubious honor of the most at-bats to start a career without a hit. We're talking the longest in the history of baseball.
Lester was 0-for-66 for his career when he stepped to the plate Monday night against St. Louis Cardinals starter (and former teammate) John Lackey. Lester put a good swing on Lackey's offering and smacked it back at the mound, where it ricocheted off Lackey. Lester arrived safely at first base, with a history-beating base hit.
It raised his career batting average from .000 to .015. Impressive indeed.*If you count the playoffs, this was Lester's first hit in 72 at-bats. He set the record for most at-bats without a hit in May, passing former San Diego Padres pitcher Joey Hamilton, who started his career*0-for-57 before getting a hit in 1995. The longest 0-for in baseball now belongs to Colorado Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis, according to ESPN Stats & Info, who is 0-for-30 to start his career.


For a while, it looked like Lester might make hit history twice in one night. He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Cards. It ended with one out in the seventh, when Jhonny Peralta ripped one down the third-base line and Kris Bryant couldn't snare it. The Cards went on to score two runs in the inning and four more in the ninth to beat the Cubs 6-0.*
But, hey, at least Jon Lester finally got a hit.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz