John Derran Lackey is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Lackey was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in 1999 and helped the franchise win its first World Series title in 2002, which was his first season in the major leagues. In 2007, he led the American League in earned run average and was also named to the All-Star team for the first time. When he became a free agent in 2009, Lackey signed with the Boston Red Sox. In 2011, he had one of the worst seasons by a starting pitcher in Red Sox history and the team missed the playoffs by one... game after leading in the Wild Card race by 9.5 games in September. Lackey was born in Abilene, Texas. Before Lackey was in high school, he played at Dixie Little League in Abilene. Lackey attended Abilene High School , and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. In baseball, he was a two-time first team All-District honoree and as a senior, he was also an All-State selection. He played one season of baseball at the University of Texas at Arlington, playing first base and sometimes moonlighting as a reliever.
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