Jon Lester Responds To Hundreds Of Fans On Twitter After Signing With Cubs
BOSTON (CBS) -- Jon Lester may now be a filthy rich athlete, but he apparently is keeping himself firmly grounded.
The left-handed pitcher signed a six-year, $155 million contract with the Chicago Cubs this week, a contract that could turn into a seven-year, $170 million pact.
That's a lot of cake, and most folks to sign such a deal would likely go on a days-long shopping spree.
Instead, Lester went on a Twitter spree, responding to hundreds of fans over the course of eight hours on Wednesday.
As you'll see in some of the tweets below, Lester didn't pick and choose his responses. He replied both to folks who wished him well and Boston fans who were upset at his choice. He even invoked a bit of humor in dealing with some of the less-than-friendly tweets.
There was also no minimum level of fame required in order to generate a response from Lester. He replied to celebrities and teammates as well as all of the @JoeNobodies of the world.
In all, Lester sent out roughly 300 tweets.
Check out some of Lester's replies below.
@wwadas sorry you feel that way man
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 11, 2014
@Soxwschamps Thanks Linda, you've always been supportive and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@TheMikeOMalley thanks brother! means a lot.
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@ShaneVictorino love you bro, thank you!
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@jjalz a lot went into it, hard to put it all in 140 characters
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@Conflentis I know they did, and I love them for it. Sorry you feel that way but I'd like to think my values are some of my best qualities
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@garrincha6 don't cry!
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@ososwaggyk I promise you I didn't but I understand if that's what you think
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@TjCool4u Totally get it bro, thanks for the kind words Thomas!
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@mattiefranco25 I get it man, appreciate the love though Matt!
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@mariagr17667434 Thanks for understanding Maria!
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@DavidRueda6 No, thank you David!
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@jwelch19 haha thanks!
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@Coreyhabib I know man, I'm sorry but appreciate the kind words!
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@_mikecunningham Sorry Mike!
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@RobMussi I know its hard to understand Rob, but it was the best decision for me and my family.
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 10, 2014
@N_Ruggiero Sorry you feel that way buddy but i believe you meant "you are" and "traitor"
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 11, 2014
@briryder I get it man, thanks for the kind words!
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 11, 2014
@WWE_GhostHunter Yessssir!
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 11, 2014
@mrspedroia sorry Lilly, please hang in there and crush your finals!
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 11, 2014
@JamieBDunbar well that too I guess but the memories and ppl far outweigh the hardware
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 11, 2014
@xxlilstevexx Can't say I agree with you but I understand the frustration
— Jon Lester (@JLester34) December 11, 2014
While Lester did respond to a number of people, there was one tweet that went ignored, floating out in the vast ether of the Internet, unresolved:
.@JLester31 can I have fifty dollars?
— Michael Hurley (@michaelFhurley) December 10, 2014
Perhaps, rather than wasting time with a tweet, Lester decided to just write up a check and send it in the mail. Yeah, he probably did that.
One not-so-happy fan tweeted "[Expletive] you" at Lester, to which he simply replied, "No thank you." Another fan tweeted the same thing, to which Lester replied, "appreciate the offer but I'm all set."
All in all, it was a pretty classy and funny display from a guy who really did not have to spend one minute of his time on Twitter.
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