Thank you, John Lackey

[Yaz4Ever]

https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS/status/494883728858947584
 
Heyman - Cards getting Lackey.
 
https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/494884674842669056 
 
Rosenthal - Confirmed.  Lackey to #STLCards.  First reported.
 
A true competitor and World Series champion.  We couldn't have done it without you last year, John.  
 
Today is baghdadjamie's birthday.  I know losing you will hit him especially hard.  Win for Jamie, John.  Win for Jamie.
 
I'll be in St. Louis to see the Sox play the Cardinals for both the 8/6 and 8/7 games.  I'll raise a Bud to you, my friend.
 

 

[brandonchristensen]

My most vivid memory of Lackey is near the beginning of the year last year when he pitched against Toronto. I was in my hotel in Boston (a day or two before the home opener, so I didn't get to see a game) and he was pitching great..then...BAM! His pectoral muscle has been ripped in half, he just came back from surgery and his career is now over! Thanks for your hard work, Lack.
 
Of course, that's not what happened...somehow, he came back and pitched his ass off and was a huge key in getting us to and through the World Series. Considering where he was in 2011, that was phenomenal.
 
He was also subject of one of my worst (yet, oddly...one of the ones that took the longest) Photoshops:
 

 

 

[snowmanny]

Beat Price in the ALDS. Outdueled Verlander 1-0. Won the WS clincher. Worth every penny.

 

[BornToRun]

Damn. Beaten to it.

May he forever be remembered for the 2.5 good years he gave us. He out-dueled Verlander in his own back yard and won the clinching game of the 2013 World Series. I'm glad he was able to go out on a high note after the couple of rocky years in the middle.

Good luck with the rest of your career, John.

 

[Laser Show]

I'm reminded of a photoshop I saw in September of 2011, though I can't find it now. It was a picture of Lackey with his head down, and the below quote:
"So we'll hate him because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A Dark Knight."
 
It was kind of stupid, but I laughed at the time. Now? There's a weird truth to it.
 
All that needs to be said about John Lackey is remember what he was in this town in October 2011 and what he became by October 2013. Thanks again John. As the rest said, worth every penny. 
 

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Thanks for the ring and redeeming yourself. Last year made you worth every bit of that contract. Give em hell Big John!

 

[Snodgrass'Muff]

His face, it's so... #winning.
 
He gave up his body when the team needed him to, took shit from the fans for years and still came back to embrace the city in its greatest hour of need and was a key component to a World Series championship. I hope we see St. Louis and Oakland in the World Series this year, and it would be amazing if it lined up so that Lackey could face Lester in a game.

 

[redsahx]

A guy who was absolutely buried by the majority of fans his first few years here. It was pretty brutal. He was a much better guy than he was being portrayed. It was great to see him play such a prominent role in the playoffs and WS last year. Glad he is able to leave here remembered more for the highs than the lows.

 

[The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa]

Anyone have that picture of Lackey wrestling with Shelley Duncan with a bag of oats during the Cleveland brawl?

 

[Bone Chips]

He gave me the best sports moment of my lifetime, and probably my son's as well - Game 6 at Fenway last October. I chanted his name so loud that I couldn't speak right for about two weeks afterwards.

Nobody has gone from villain to hero like John Lackey. The true comeback kid. I wish I knew how injured he really was when I was booing him all those years. But he didn't seem to give a shit, so no harm no foul.

 

[HangingW/ScottCooper]

Thanks for 2013 Lack... good luck

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

Everybody loves a good redemption story. Thanks for giving us one. Happy trails.

 

[PeaceSignMoose]

Nobody went from universally hated to universally loved quite like John Lackey.  Thank you and fuck right off, you glorious asshole.

 

[brandonchristensen]

Nobody went from universally hated to universally loved quite like John Lackey.  Thank you and fuck right off, you glorious asshole.

Damon did the inverse quite nicely.

 

[24JoshuaPoint]

Was it a playoff game that was the first time he actually acknowledged the crowd(post beer/chicken/injury) coming off the field at Fenway or was it a great regular season game? I remember getting a little choked up when he suddenly showed a little something.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

I'll always remember him for this moment... specifically the "Lackey!" chants. Surreal after everything else he went through in 2011-2012.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWt8Ax1u65Y
 
...obviously not so much for the result of the next at-bat, but no harm came of it.

 

[Remagellan]

Beat Price in the ALDS. Outdueled Verlander 1-0. Won the WS clincher. Worth every penny.

 
This.  
 
I always root a little harder for the guys everyone else is riding, so I've been pulling for you since you got here.   During the collapse of 2011 you pitched through pain, which is something most people didn't appreciate because the results weren't great, but it takes a man to go out there when he's hurt and give the best he can do even if the best he can do at that time is not enough.
 
And when you were at your best--well, see the quote above.  
 
Thanks and good luck in St. Louis.  My Cards fan buddy is currently in Sicily but I'm sure he'll be happy when he reads that there's another warrior putting on the Birds on the Bat.

 

[WenZink]

Jimmy Dean said it best over 50 years ago:
 
"Ev'ry mornin' at the mine you could see him arrive
He stood six foot six and weighed two thirty five
Kinda broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip
And everybody knew, ya didn't give no lip to Big John"
 
You were the victim of character assasination by the know-nothing media in this town, but I never heard less than unqualified praise from a teammate.  You're a big man who knows how fortunate he is to get paid well to play a child's game.  I hope you pitch into your 40's and get to 200+ career wins.

 

 

[67WasBest]

Appreciate your guts and the way you handled yourself through some tough times here.  Thanks for all your efforts to come back healthy and be part of 2014.  Good luck Mr Lackey

 

[Dan to Theo to Ben]

Everything's bigger from Texas, including chins.
 
Thank you for last year.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8afQuHWBn6Y

 

[Brianish]

I spent two years loathing John Lackey. He made me mad like no other Sox player. I was even happy when I heard he was out for 2012, and I don't think I was the only one.
 
When he went to pitch in the World Series, I said that if he did the same thing he did to Detroit in the ALCS, I would buy a John Lackey shirt, and I would wear it as a penance for all the mean things I ever said about him.
 
He dazzled, and I bought the shirt. I'll keep wearing it.
 
John, thanks for being tough enough to step up for a city that was not necessarily in love with you.
 
Thanks for game 3. Thanks for game 6.
 
Thanks for tipping your cap. 

 

[Brianish]

I'll always remember him for this moment... specifically the "Lackey!" chants. Surreal after everything else he went through in 2011-2012.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWt8Ax1u65Y
 
...obviously not so much for the result of the next at-bat, but no harm came of it.

 
God, I forgot about that. Goosebumps. Still. 

 

[ookami7m]

He wasn't the hero we deserved, but he was the hero we needed.
 
He pitched lights out in the post season and finally got the love he deserved from the faithful. 
 
I hated him in LAA, didn't like him much when he signed here, loathed him after the 2011-2012 debacles but as he came back stronger and stronger in 2013 and the team rallied, I saw what my friends in LA who loved him had seen - a competitor who was ready for war with anyone anytime. 
 
Now I can go back to making fun of his horse face though.

 

[Manramsclan]

I hated your big horse teeth, your bad attitude when things weren't going your way, and your previous quotes about the fact that the "better team" didn't win the 2007 playoff agains the Angels.
 
Well, I was surprised as anyone when you lost 50 lbs and began to pitch well, and I began to love you for your big horse teeth, your bad attitude when things weren't going your way, and your dumb surly quotes.
 
Well, actually, I didn't love you at all. I just begrudgingly liked you. You're still a douche. 
 
Thanks for the 2013 World Series

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Nobody went from universally hated to universally loved quite like John Lackey.  Thank you and fuck right off, you glorious asshole.

 
My favorite line about that was that he went from being:

John "Fucking" Lackey
 
to
 
FUCKING JOHN LACKEY!

 

[Brianish]

I hated your big horse teeth, your bad attitude when things weren't going your way, and your previous quotes about the fact that the "better team" didn't win the 2007 playoff agains the Angels.
 
 

 
Wasn't that 2008?

 

[Manramsclan]

 
Wasn't that 2008?

Probably. He's still a douche though.

 

[Dan to Theo to Ben]

That 2-out 1-2 4th inning K pitch to Freese will never be forgotten.

 

[sackamano]

Never liked you at all.
 
I hope you get your ass handed to you in your start against the Sox next week.

 

[Beomoose]

Thanks for 2013. Thanks for the ring and for showing us you could earn that paycheck. Hope you have fun earning it somewhere else.

 

[Kull]

It's all about the rings, and without John Lackey 2013 doesn't happen. Thanks for that.

 

[glasspusher]

Jeez, I saw you lose a game here in Oakland summer of 2010 when your arm wasn't so hot, hated you in 2011, and last year you climbed from nadir to zenith in my mind. Well done, sir. You have earned my respect, turning it all around from 2011 beer and chicken.

 

[Granite Sox]

A guy who was absolutely buried by the majority of fans his first few years here. It was pretty brutal. He was a much better guy than he was being portrayed. It was great to see him play such a prominent role in the playoffs and WS last year. Glad he is able to leave here remembered more for the highs than the lows.

 
 

He gave me the best sports moment of my lifetime, and probably my son's as well - Game 6 at Fenway last October. I chanted his name so loud that I couldn't speak right for about two weeks afterwards.

Nobody has gone from villain to hero like John Lackey. The true comeback kid. I wish I knew how injured he really was when I was booing him all those years. But he didn't seem to give a shit, so no harm no foul.

 
 

He wasn't the hero we deserved, but he was the hero we needed.
 
He pitched lights out in the post season and finally got the love he deserved from the faithful. 
 
I hated him in LAA, didn't like him much when he signed here, loathed him after the 2011-2012 debacles but as he came back stronger and stronger in 2013 and the team rallied, I saw what my friends in LA who loved him had seen - a competitor who was ready for war with anyone anytime. 

 
This and this and this.
 
Thank you, John F. Lackey

 

[teddywingman]

A great competitor who delivered the goods when the team needed it most.
 
I think the Cardinals got a steal.