Cubs to induct Jon Lester, Jody Davis into team Hall of Fame
It was fitting that during the opening ceremony of a Cubs Convention designed to celebrate the 2016 World Series team, chairman Tom Ricketts announced left-hander Jon Lester would be inducted into the Cubs Hall of Fame.
Lester and Jody Davis, a longtime Cubs catcher and key member of the beloved 1984 team, will be the 2026 inductees, the team revealed Friday.
Lester is considered one of the greatest free agent signings in Cubs history. The Cubs won the Lester sweepstakes in December 2014, selling him on a bright future for the young team. It was a turning point.
The following season, Lester helped lead the group to their first playoff berth in seven years. And in 2016, he finished second in NL Cy Young voting, with a 19-5 record and 2.44 ERA. He was even better (2.02 ERA) in the postseason, en route to a World Series title.
In Lester’s six-year Cubs tenure, he made 171 starts, threw four complete games, and owned a 3.64 ERA.
Lester played one more season after closing his chapter in Chicago and reached the 200-career win threshold. His 2,488 career strikeouts put him at No. 41 on the all-time list.
Last week, the Red Sox also announced that Lester would be inducted into their team Hall of Fame. Lester spent the first eight and a half seasons of his major-league career with Boston and won a curse-breaking World Series there, too.
A call from Cooperstown could be next. Lester will appear on the BBWAA ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time next winter.
Davis was a Gold Glover and two-time All-Star in his Cubs tenure, from 1981 to 1988. When the Cubs ended a nearly four-decade-long playoff drought in 1984, Davis finished 10th in NL MVP voting — his teammate, late Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, took home the award.
The Cubs also posthumously honored former broadcaster Vince Lloyd with a place in their Hall of Fame.