Former Major League Baseball outfielder Chet Lemon of Jackson, Mississippi has passed away at the age of 70. Lemon was an outfielder with the Chicago White Sox from 1975 to 1981, and with the Detroit Tigers from 1982 to 1990. He was an American League All-Star in 1978, 1979, and 1984.
Cause of Death
The specific cause of death was not mentioned. However, he was diagnosed with a blood disorder while still playing Major League Baseball in 1990, had 13 strokes, was in an assisted living facility in Florida, was suffering from aphasia, and lost the ability to walk and talk according to TSN.
Career Statistics
Lemon batted .273 with 215 home runs and 884 runs batted in. During 1988 games, 6868 at bats, and 7874 plate appearances, he scored 973 runs, and had 1875 hits, 396 doubles, 61 triples, 58 stolen bases, 749 walks, 3028 total bases, 50 sacrifice bunts, and 54 sacrifice flies, to go along with an on base percentage of .355 and a slugging percentage of .442.
Hit by a Pitch Often
Four times Lemon led the Major Leagues in being hit by a pitch. He was hit 13 times with the White Sox in 1979 and 1981, 15 times with the Tigers in 1982, and 20 times with the Tigers in 1983. In the 1980s, Lemon was actually hit 108 times. That was second in the American League, only behind Don Baylor of Austin, Texas, who was hit 160 times while with the California Angels, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, and Oakland Athletics.
American League leader in doubles
Lemon led the American League with 44 doubles in 1979. He was fourth in the Major Leagues that year. He was behind St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Keith Hernandez of San Francisco, California (48), Montreal Expos outfielder Warren Cromartie of Miami Beach, Florida (46), and Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Dave Parker of Grenada, Mississippi (45).
World Series champion
In 1984, Lemon was a World Series champion. The Tigers beat the San Diego Padres in five games. Despite the Tigers being victorious, Lemon struggled offensively as he only had five hits (all singles) in 30 at bats for a batting average of .167.
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