Jon Lester Made First Pickoff Throws to First Since 2013, Appears to Have the "Yips"

Jon Lester, the Chicago Cubs $155 million man, made his first two pickoff attempts at first base since April 2013. They did not go according to plan. The first pulled Anthony Rizzo off the bag. The second sailed into right field, but luckily Jorge Soler backed up the play and threw out Zack Cozart at third base.

There is a sense Lester has something going on through his head — aka the yips. The lefty downplayed that, but … well … this is something to watch. You know opposing teams are going to try to run more on Lester going forward.

From the Chicago Tribune:

"“When you’re not used to doing stuff like that, I got a little overexcited and threw the ball too soon,” Lester said. “Once again, (Soler) picks me up.”"

Perhaps Lester should talk to Chuck Knoblauch or, if you like 90s baseball movies (cough, plug) Rube Baker.

For what it’s worth, in the classic baseball book “The Glory of Their Times,” pitcher Sad Sam Jones said to author Lawrence Ritter he never made a pickoff throw and simply stepped off the mound. I couldn’t remember the name of which player told this anecdote, but it was mentioned in the comments of this Wall Street Journal article on the effectiveness of throwing to first.