Bob Lemon

Career Batting Stats G AB H R HR RBI SB AVG SLG OBP OPS OPS+ 615 1183 274 148 37 147 2 .232 .386 .288 .674 94.2

Teams Bob Lemon Managed

Where does Bob Lemon rank among baseball greats?

Best Season: 1948
He had a lot of very good season, but we'll choose '48 because of his pair of victories in the Tribe's World Series defeat of the Braves.

Factoids
In 1949, Bob Lemon hit seven home runs and had a .556 slugging percentage in 108 at-bats. On the mound during his entire career, he allowed opposing hitters just 19 home runs in 1,050 at-bats.

Full Bio
Prior to World War II, Lemon struggled as a light-hitting third baseman. With the Indians he made the switch to the mound on the suggestion of manager Lou Boudreau, who recognized Lemon's athleticism and naturally powerful arm. Lemon learned to pitch on the job with the Indians and eventually won 20 games seven times for the team. A sinker-ball specialist, Lemon teamed with Bob Feller, Early Wynn, and Mike Garcia to form one of the greatest pitching staffs in baseball history. In 1948 he won 20 games in the regular season and two more in the Fall Classic for the World Champion Indians. In 1954 he was 23-7 as Cleveland won the pennant and rolled to an American League record 111 victories. He retired in 1958 with 207 wins, all but 10 of them won in a ten-year span.

After his playing career, Lemon coached and managed for several teams before landing his first major league managerial job in Kansas City. He guided the Royals to their first winning season in 1971, for which he earned AL Manager of the Year honors, but was fired following the 1972 season. Five years later he latched on with another young team: the Chicago White Sox. He improved the Sox record by 26 games in 1977, winning his second Manager of the Year Award, but again he was axed the following season after Chicago posted a 34-40 record in the first half. A few weeks later he was hired by the New York Yankees to replace troubled manager Billy Martin. For the first time, Lemon had a talented ball club of veteran players, and he responded by guiding them to a 48-20 record to catch the stunned Boston Red Sox for the lead in the American League East. The Yankees defeated Boston in a one-game play-off to advance to the post-season, then beat the Royals and Dodgers to win the 1978 World Series title.

When the Yankees struggled in the first part of 1979, Lemon was fired by manic owner George Steinbrenner. Amazingly, the unflappable Lemon maintained a good relationship with Steinbrenner, and when the Yankees needed a boost late in 1981, he was brought back to skipper the team. Despite managing just 25 games for a dismal record of 11-14, Lemon moved on to the post-season thanks to the split season format, which the Bombers had won in the first-half. New York dispatched the Brewers and A's and won the first two games of the World Series against the Dodgers, only to lose four straight. Lemon survived a few weeks into the '82 season before Steinbrenner dismissed him one last time. He had managed just over one full season of games (172) for the Yankees, winning 99 times for a .576 winning percentage.

Where He Played
Starting pitcher (350), relief pitcher (110), outfield (14), third base (2)

Born
Robert Granville Lemon was born on September 22, 1920, in San Bernardino, CA.

Died
January 11, 2000, Long Beach, CA

Batted:  Left
Threw:  Right

Major League Debut
9 9,

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1941
Stan Musial
Phil Rizzuto
Bob Lemon
Vern Stephens
Dave Philley
Jim Hegan
Danny Murtaugh
Dick Wakefield
Virgil Trucks

Uniform Numbers
#38 (1941), #42 (1942), #6 (1946), #21 (1947-1958)

Similar Players
Allie Reynolds, Tommy Bridges, Mike Garcia

Related Players
Lou Boudreau, Bob Feller, Early Wynn, Mike Garcia, Billy Martin

Hall of Fame Voting Year Election Votes Pct 1964 BBWAA 24 11.9% 1964 Run Off 3 1.3% 1966 BBWAA 21 7.0% 1967 BBWAA 35 12.0% 1967 Run Off 7 2.3% 1968 BBWAA 47 16.6% 1969 BBWAA 56 16.5% 1970 BBWAA 75 25.0% 1971 BBWAA 90 25.0% 1972 BBWAA 117 29.5% 1973 BBWAA 177 46.6% 1974 BBWAA 190 52.1% 1975 BBWAA 233 64.4% 1976 BBWAA 305 78.6%

No-Hitter
6/30/1948: For CLE (A) vs. DET (A), 2-0 at DET. 9 innings pitched.

Post-Season Appearances
1948 World Series
1954 World Series

Feats
On June 30, 1948, Lemon pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers.

Milestones
On September 11, 1956, almost exactly 15 years to the day that he debuted in the big leagues, Lemon earned his 200th victory. He defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1.

All-Star Selections
1948 AL
1949 AL
1950 AL
1951 AL
1952 AL
1953 AL
1954 AL

Replaced
Mel Harder, who was in his final season in 1947, when Lemon joined the Cleveland rotation.

Replaced By
As Lemon was winding down, Gary Bell and Mudcat Grant were emerging in the Cleveland rotation.

Best Strength as a Player
Lemon was often used as a pinch-hitter, putting up a lifetime PH mark of 31 hits in 109 at-bats (.284). Lemon's 37 career home runs is second on the all-time career list, behind Wes Ferrell. On the pitching side, Lemon featured a nasty sinker.

Largest Weakness as a Player
Lemon had control problems throughout his career, walking as many as 120 batters four times. He averaged just under four walks per nine innings, which is almost exactly his strikeout average.

Learn More about Bob Lemon
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