RIP Chet Lemon

[Chet Lemon]

Key member of the 1984 Tigers and a first-ballot Hall of Very Gooder.

He was 70.

 

[Deskgrunt50]

And posting from the great beyond. RIP.

 

[Chet Lemon]

And posting from the great beyond. RIP.

I guess it's fortunate I didn't go with Tarik Skubal or Jared Goff, if one believes in such things.

 

[HanSenSE]

And posting from the great beyond. RIP.

So maybe we'll hear from Abe Vigoda again?

 

[Smallpotatoes]

I remember he had a very successful AAU baseball program in Florida called Lemon’s Jiuce.

 

[Jake from State Farm]

One of two trades that made the 1984 Tigers complete. No one knew at the time what a great trade Chet Lemon for Steve Kemp was. Best Tigers center fielder of my lifetime, and one of the worst base runners. RIP Chester

 

[Jake from State Farm]

Chester had been in poor health for some time

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/...chet-lemon-death-age-tigers-1984/83513931007/

 

[garrow]

One of my favorite 80s players. As a kid I thought doubles leaders were cooler than HR leaders

 

[User 149557]

One of my favorite 80s players. As a kid I thought doubles leaders were cooler than HR leaders

I still do. I love guys who hit lasers all over the ballpark rather than those backspin moonscrapers. It’s also why I think Judge is so incredible. He’s a doubles swing guy who is so strong they become home runs.

 

[Ookpik]

RIP.

 

[qtlaw]

Nice player; this what I see when I think of him

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

Whew, for a minute I thought it was Cleo Lemon.

 

[DanOregon]

Those white sox teams he was on had a lot more going on than just the funky unis. LeFlore, Lemon and Baines in the OF, Luzinski as DH? Pitchers like Dotson, Hoyt, Trout, Dennis Lamp and Britt Burns?

 

[I Should Coco]

Those white sox teams he was on had a lot more going on than just the funky unis. LeFlore, Lemon and Baines in the OF, Luzinski as DH? Pitchers like Dotson, Hoyt, Trout, Dennis Lamp and Britt Burns?

With the exception of the 1977 South Side Hitmen, those late 1970s and early 1980s White Sox teams were awful. By the time LaRussa had the 1983 team make the ALCS, Lemon was in Detroit. That worked out well for him the next season though.

 

[justgladtobehere]

Nice player; this what I see when I think of him

View attachment 19538

The shorts were just a way to get the players to not skip leg day, apparently.

 

[ChrisLong]

I'm sure I have a baseball scorebook from my high school coverage days stashed away that has Chet Lemon in in. He went to Fremont High in L.A. That was the time when inner-city kids were excelling. When they were high schoolers, I saw Eddie Murray, Ozzie Smith, Darryl Strawberry, Earl Battey Jr., Eric Davis -- lots of them.

Funny story: 15 years after I stopped covering preps, I was assigned to a high school baseball game. I found an old scorebook to use and at the game, I was thumbing through the pages. Near the front, there was a guy listed who was coaching the team that I was covering that day. Afterward, I showed it to one of the players. He looked and started laughing, then shouted to his teammates, "This guy's scorebook has a game that Coach was playing in. Coach is batting eighth." hahaha.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

I'm sure I have a baseball scorebook from my high school coverage days stashed away that has Chet Lemon in in. He went to Fremont High in L.A. That was the time when inner-city kids were excelling. When they were high schoolers, I saw Eddie Murray, Ozzie Smith, Darryl Strawberry, Earl Battey Jr., Eric Davis -- lots of them.

Funny story: 15 years after I stopped covering preps, I was assigned to a high school baseball game. I found an old scorebook to use and at the game, I was thumbing through the pages. Near the front, there was a guy listed who was coaching the team that I was covering that day. Afterward, I showed it to one of the players. He looked and started laughing, then shouted to his teammates, "This guy's scorebook has a game that Coach was playing in. Coach is batting eighth." hahaha.

Come to think of it, a large number of the skips up and down the leagues probably batted eighth too at some point.

 

[Jake from State Farm]

I got into a stupid Facebook spat when I posted Chester's obit. I said he was the best Tigers center fielder of my lifetime and two of my friends immediately piped up: "What about Mickey Stanley?" Stanley was a great defensive player but not much of a hitter. I had to convince them Chet was a better all around ballplayer

 

[ChrisLong]

Come to think of it, a large number of the skips up and down the leagues probably batted eighth too at some point.

IIRC, he was a junior on a powerhouse team loaded with seniors. Good for him making the starting lineup.

 

[Chet Lemon]

I'm sure I have a baseball scorebook from my high school coverage days stashed away that has Chet Lemon in in. He went to Fremont High in L.A. That was the time when inner-city kids were excelling. When they were high schoolers, I saw Eddie Murray, Ozzie Smith, Darryl Strawberry, Earl Battey Jr., Eric Davis -- lots of them.

Funny story: 15 years after I stopped covering preps, I was assigned to a high school baseball game. I found an old scorebook to use and at the game, I was thumbing through the pages. Near the front, there was a guy listed who was coaching the team that I was covering that day. Afterward, I showed it to one of the players. He looked and started laughing, then shouted to his teammates, "This guy's scorebook has a game that Coach was playing in. Coach is batting eighth." hahaha.

I feel bad for their teammate who was batting eighth that day and overheard!