John Lackey is having the worst season of any starting pitcher in baseball, and by far the worst season of his career. In May, the former Angels ace said “everything in my life sucks right now.” Not only was he struggling on the mound, but more importantly, his wife was battling breast cancer.
Several months later, Lackey’s pitching has hardly improved, and his personal problems appear to have worsened. TMZ reports that Lackey filed for divorce from his wife on August 30th.
The two were married in November, 2008, and his wife, Krista, reportedly underwent a double masectomy and has had chemotherapy treatments this year.
Lackey gave up four runs to the Yankees Sunday night over six innings, taking a no decision. It was his second-best start of the month and only the second time the Red Sox have won one of his starts in September.
Given the nature of what’s been reported, Lackey is going to end up looking like an awful human being for leaving his wife while she’s undergoing cancer treatment. We don’t know all the details of their relationship so it would be unfair to make that claim.
The report also seems to explain an issue about which Lackey complained Sunday night. The Red Sox pitcher was upset that he received a text message 30 minutes prior to his start regarding a personal issue.
“I shouldn’t even be standing here having to deal with this,” Lackey told the media after the game. “I’m sitting here listening to music. I don’t know who got my phone number, but that’s over the line.”
He’s right — that is over the line. We can figure it was TMZ reaching out to him, but there’s no reason they couldn’t wait until after the game started to send the message. Their timing was poor and disrespectful, but it doesn’t make Lackey a victim. If he’s so focused on his job, why is he checking his cell phone 30 minutes before a game?
While Lackey won’t enjoy having his personal life discussed in a public forum, the news can actually be insightful for baseball fans wondering why he’s struggled so much this season. We’ve heard of a player blaming injuries on a divorce; it’s quite possible the personal issues have resulted in Lackey’s poor pitching. This may actually be comforting for Red Sox fans who are hoping for a bounceback season from their $82.5 million pitcher.
