MILWAUKEE (KMOX) - Even though he's 37 years old and has played 16 seasons in the big leagues, Cardinals left-hander Jon Lester wasn't too old to partake in the celebratory baseball tradition of taking a ride inside a laundry cart. It happened Monday night after he earned his 200th career victory in the Cardinals' 5-2 win against the Brewers.
Lester -- who previously played for the Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals -- became the 119th pitcher in MLB history to record at least 200 wins. He went six innings Monday, allowing two runs on three hits with zero walks and two strikeouts.
Then he took a ride in the laundry cart.
"My big butt had to get in there," Lester said. "It wasn't so much getting in — it was getting out that was the problem. And then you really don't realize how cold that beer is until it gets poured on your head. And I don't have a lot of stuff for it to go through on top of my head. It was definitely cold, but a pretty awesome feeling."
Video of Lester's laundry cart ride didn't emerge, but to give you an idea of what that may have looked like, the Red Sox have been celebrating home runs by pushing players in their carts down the dugout.
After Lester's victory, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina embraced him with a big hug on the field and gave him the ball that got the last out.
Lester struggled to find the words to describe what win No. 200 meant to him.
“It’s a nice round number and it looks better than 199,” Lester said. “It’s obviously awesome, but I’m kind of lacking words.”
St. Louis dealt outfielder Lane Thomas to Washington for Lester at the trade deadline this year. Since the move, he's 4-1 with a 4.02 ERA and has pitched at least five innings in all but one of his 10 starts.
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