Tigers World Series Champion and 3-time All-Star Chet Lemon Passes at 70
When you play sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball you tend to make an impact. Chet Lemon did just that and more, demonstrating his passion and immense dedication to the game in the seventies and eighties. Becoming known as one of the best defensive center fielders in baseball and winning a World Series championship. However, with very heavy hearts the MLB community mourns once more; Tigers World Series champion and 3-time All-Star Chet Lemon has passed away at 70 years old.
Lemon was a former first round draft pick (1977) and during his professional career was selected as an American League All-Star in 1978, 1979, and 1984. He would lead the American League with 44 doubles in 1979. And in 1977, he led the American League with 512 outfield putouts, the fourth highest single-season tally in major league history and the highest tally since 1951.
He would play with the Chicago White Sox for a smidge over a half a decade; before before being traded to the Detroit Tigers. A 1981 trade that sent Steve Kemp to the Sox. Being uprooted with his family and dealing with injuries with his wrist and ribs, Chet did not initially perform well for Detroit.
However, he worked hard and prevailed. Helping to contribute to a championship run. Lemon played a key role on the 1984 championship team. Defensively, he started 135 games in center field and compiled a career-high .995 fielding percentage with only two errors in 438 chances. Plus, his 60 extra-base hits tied Kirk Gibson for the most on the team and his 76 RBIs ranked third on the 1984 Tigers team. Injury had not stopped him, it had only made him stronger.
Tigers World Series Champion and 3-time All-Star Chet Lemon Passes at 70
Major League Baseball also released a statement about Chet Lemon’s enduring legacy. The league states,
“We are saddened by the passing of former All-Star and World Series champion Chet Lemon. A first-round pick by the A’s in the 1972 MLB Draft, Lemon made his Major League debut as a 20-year-old with the White Sox in 1975.
He went on to play 16 seasons with the White Sox and Tigers. A supreme defender, Lemon was a 3-time All-Star and set a record for center fielders in 1977 with 509 putouts, a mark which stood for over 30 years.
Lemon played his last 9 seasons with the Tigers, helping them to the Postseason twice. He was a key member of Detroit’s 1984 World Series championship team. He was 70 years old.”
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