Lester admits to drinking in the clubhouse

BOSTON -- Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester confirmed reports about him and other players drinking beer during games. But, Lester said that it had nothing to do with the team’s historic September collapse.

On Monday, Lester admitted he did drink beer during games, but only during the 9th inning.

In an interview with the Boston Globe, Lester admitted to drinking during “some games” and acknowledged it was “the wrong thing to do.”

However, Lester was adamant the drinking did not contribute to the epic collapse that saw the Red Sox miss the playoffs after going 7-20 in September. He blamed the collapse on poor play, saying the drinking was going on even when they had the best record in baseball.

"There's a perception out there that we were up there getting hammered and that wasn't the case. Was it a bad habit? Yes. I should have been on the bench more than I was,” Lester told the Globe.

He added, "Most of the times it was one beer, a beer. It was like having a Coke in terms of how it affected you mentally or physically. I know how it looks to people and it probably looks bad. But we weren't up there just drinking and eating and nobody played video games. We watched the game."

Lester stressed that only starting pitchers who were not pitching that day took part in the drinking. He said, a “ninth inning rally beer” they were having at times.

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