John Lackey

John Derran Lackey (born October 23, 1978) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2002 through 2017 for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.

A three-time World Series champion with three different teams, Lackey is regarded as a key figure in his clubs' postseason success, winning the title-clinching games of two out of the three Series.

A right-handed pitcher and batter, the Anaheim Angels selected Lackey from Grayson County College in Texas in the 1999 amateur draft.

In 1999, he played on the Junior College World Series champion Grayson County College team in Denison, Texas, which went 50–13.

In 100 innings pitched (IP), he posted a 10–3 record with a 4.23 earned run average (ERA) and 88 strikeouts.

At the plate, he batted .428 with 15 home runs (HR) and 81 runs batted in (RBI).

In the World Series, he tallied eight hits, two HR, and seven RBI.

The Anaheim Angels selected Lackey in the second round of the 1999 Major League Baseball draft as the 68th overall.

He began his professional career with the Boise Hawks in the Short Season Class A Northwest League, posting a 6–2 record and a 4.98 ERA.

Already in his first year, Lackey became known for his competitiveness.

According to MLB.com, Tom Kotchman, the veteran manager, recalled "one particular game when he tried to replace Lackey only to have the tall Texan tell him otherwise. Sure enough, Kotchman trotted back to the dugout and Lackey kept dominating, as if to say, 'See? I'm not done yet.'"

In 2000, Lackey split his time between the Single-A Cedar Rapids Kernels, High-A Lake Elsinore Storm, and Double-A Erie SeaWolves.

Because of his quick ascent up the minor league ladder, he was named the Angels' Minor League Pitcher of the Year, posting a combined 15–9 record with a 3.15 ERA.

He began 2001 with Double-A Arkansas before being promoted in July of that year to the Triple-A Salt Lake Stingers, where he struggled a bit, posting a 3–4 record and a 6.71 ERA.

He made his MLB debut with the Angels in 2002 and helped the franchise win its first World Series title that year.

With the exception of his rookie season in 2002, he reached at least 10 wins every season of his career.

In ten of his 15 seasons, he registered an ERA below 4.00 − once below 3.00 − and four times was in the top ten in ERA.

He also twice reached the top ten in both wins and strikeouts.

He appeared in ten postseasons overall, recording a career 8–6 record and 3.44 ERA over 144 innings.

He recovered in the 2002 season, being named Best Pitching Prospect of the Pacific Coast League and accumulating an 8–2 record with a 2.57 ERA.

The Angels called Lackey up to the major leagues on June 24, 2002, dropping his first major league start against the Texas Rangers.

He was optioned back to Salt Lake, only to be recalled on June 28 to replace pitcher Al Levine.

Two days later, he replaced Scott Schoeneweis in the Angels' rotation and gained his first victory against the cross-town rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

Lackey was also the winning pitcher for the American League (AL) Wild Card-clinching victory against Texas on September 26.

With the AL Wild Card in hand, the Angels began their march through the 2002 postseason, facing the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series (ALDS).

Selected to the MLB All-Star Game in 2007, he won that year's American League (AL) earned run average (ERA) title.

In 2007 and 2015, he received votes for the Cy Young Award.

Lackey was born in Abilene, Texas to Derran and Sharon Lackey.

Before Lackey was in high school, he played at Dixie Little League in Abilene.

Lackey attended Abilene High School, and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball.

In baseball, he was a two-time first team All-District honoree and as a senior, he was also an All-State selection.

He played one season of baseball at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), playing first base and sometimes moonlighting as a relief pitcher.

The first summer after attending UTA, Lackey first learned to pitch in the Kansas Jayhawk Summer League.

After winning more than 100 games with the Angels, Lackey signed with Boston in free agency prior to the 2010 season.

Declining performance and elbow injuries in 2011 led him to allow the most earned runs in the American League before missing the next season due to elbow surgery.

After missing the 2012 season due to ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery in his pitching elbow, and helping the Red Sox win the 2013 World Series, Lackey was named the winner of the Tony Conigliaro Award.

Lackey rebounded in 2013 to win his second championship.

Boston traded him to St. Louis in July 2014, and prior to the 2016 season, he signed with Chicago as a free agent.

Lackey earned his third World Series championship in 2016 with the Cubs.

Known for his intense competitiveness and overall durability, Lackey reached at least 200 innings pitched six times in his career, and in five seasons was in the top ten in games started.