Chet Lemon was born on Saturday, February 12, 1955, in Jackson, Mississippi. Lemon was 20 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 9, 1975, with the Chicago White Sox. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Chet Lemon baseball stats page.
"(Chet) Lemon remembered his move to the outfield more vividly. 'In late 1975 when I was with the Sox, I was at third base and a groundball was hit towards the middle. I started running and cut in front of the shortstop and actually wound up around Jorge Orta -- at second base,' he said. 'The very next day I was on the top step of the dugout, it was early in the day since I'd always be one of the first guys to show up. Chuck Tanner, the Sox manager, came up, put his arm around my shoulder and said -- and I can remember this like it was yesterday -- ‘Son, I want you to start taking 100 fly balls a day because if you stay an infielder you're gonna kill somebody.’" - Mike McClary (SABR Baseball Biography, "Chet Lemon", Source)
Chet LemonChet "The Jet" Lemon Autograph on a 1980 Topps Baseball Card (#589) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chet LemonChet Lemon Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
- | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
Chet LemonChet Lemon Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1975 | 20 | White Sox | 9 | 35 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .257 | .297 | .314 |
1976 | 21 | White Sox | 132 | 451 | 46 | 111 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 38 | 28 | 0 | 65 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 9 | .246 | .298 | .328 |
1977 | 22 | White Sox | 150 | 553 | 99 | 151 | 38 | 4 | 19 | 0 | 67 | 52 | 1 | 88 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 7 | .273 | .343 | .459 |
1978 | 23 | White Sox | 105 | 357 | 51 | 107 | 24 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 55 | 39 | 2 | 46 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 11 | .300 | .377 | .510 |
1979 | 24 | White Sox | 148 | 556 | 79 | 177 | 44 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 86 | 56 | 6 | 68 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 15 | .318 | .391 | .496 |
1980 | 25 | White Sox | 147 | 514 | 76 | 150 | 32 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 51 | 71 | 6 | 56 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 12 | .292 | .388 | .442 |
1981 | 26 | White Sox | 94 | 328 | 50 | 99 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 50 | 33 | 0 | 48 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 10 | .302 | .384 | .491 |
1982 | 27 | Tigers | 125 | 436 | 75 | 116 | 20 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 52 | 56 | 2 | 69 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 13 | .266 | .368 | .447 |
1983 | 28 | Tigers | 145 | 491 | 78 | 125 | 21 | 5 | 24 | 0 | 69 | 54 | 1 | 70 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 11 | .255 | .350 | .464 |
1984 | 29 | Tigers | 141 | 509 | 77 | 146 | 34 | 6 | 20 | 1 | 76 | 51 | 9 | 83 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 16 | .287 | .357 | .495 |
1985 | 30 | Tigers | 145 | 517 | 69 | 137 | 28 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 68 | 45 | 3 | 93 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 5 | .265 | .334 | .439 |
1986 | 31 | Tigers | 126 | 403 | 45 | 101 | 21 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 53 | 39 | 3 | 53 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 15 | .251 | .326 | .407 |
1987 | 32 | Tigers | 146 | 470 | 75 | 130 | 30 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 75 | 70 | 1 | 82 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 17 | .277 | .376 | .481 |
1988 | 33 | Tigers | 144 | 512 | 67 | 135 | 29 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 64 | 59 | 6 | 65 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 18 | .264 | .346 | .436 |
1989 | 34 | Tigers | 127 | 414 | 45 | 98 | 19 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 47 | 46 | 3 | 71 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | .237 | .323 | .343 |
1990 | 35 | Tigers | 104 | 322 | 39 | 83 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 48 | 3 | 61 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | .258 | .359 | .379 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
16 Years | 1,988 | 6,868 | 973 | 1,875 | 396 | 61 | 215 | 1 | 884 | 749 | 46 | 1,024 | 50 | 54 | 151 | 174 | .273 | .355 | .442 |
Chet LemonChet Lemon Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1975 White Sox | 3B | 6 | 5 | 129 | 13 | 2.2 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .923 | 2.51 |
1975 White Sox | CF | 1 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1976 White Sox | CF | 130 | 118 | 3,126 | 373 | 2.9 | 370 | 358 | 12 | 3 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .992 | 3.20 |
1976 White Sox | LF | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1977 White Sox | CF | 149 | 149 | 3,903 | 533 | 3.6 | 521 | 509 | 12 | 12 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .977 | 3.60 |
1978 White Sox | CF | 84 | 83 | 2,070 | 254 | 3.0 | 251 | 245 | 6 | 3 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .988 | 3.27 |
1978 White Sox | RF | 11 | 11 | 264 | 40 | 3.6 | 38 | 37 | 1 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .950 | 3.89 |
1979 White Sox | CF | 147 | 147 | 3,843 | 432 | 2.9 | 422 | 411 | 11 | 10 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .977 | 2.96 |
1980 White Sox | 2B | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1980 White Sox | CF | 139 | 135 | 3,555 | 361 | 2.6 | 354 | 343 | 11 | 7 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .981 | 2.69 |
1981 White Sox | CF | 93 | 94 | 2,343 | 247 | 2.7 | 243 | 241 | 2 | 4 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .984 | 2.80 |
1982 Tigers | CF | 27 | 25 | 651 | 65 | 2.4 | 65 | 63 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.70 |
1982 Tigers | RF | 96 | 92 | 2,427 | 191 | 2.0 | 187 | 177 | 10 | 4 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .979 | 2.08 |
1983 Tigers | CF | 144 | 139 | 3,741 | 417 | 2.9 | 412 | 403 | 9 | 5 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .988 | 2.97 |
1983 Tigers | RF | 2 | 1 | 33 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1984 Tigers | CF | 140 | 135 | 3,621 | 438 | 3.1 | 436 | 430 | 6 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .995 | 3.25 |
1985 Tigers | CF | 144 | 143 | 3,816 | 420 | 2.9 | 416 | 412 | 4 | 4 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .990 | 2.94 |
1986 Tigers | CF | 124 | 111 | 3,003 | 325 | 2.6 | 320 | 314 | 6 | 5 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .985 | 2.88 |
1987 Tigers | CF | 145 | 130 | 3,513 | 355 | 2.4 | 352 | 348 | 4 | 3 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .992 | 2.71 |
1988 Tigers | RF | 144 | 141 | 3,720 | 312 | 2.2 | 304 | 295 | 9 | 8 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .974 | 2.21 |
1989 Tigers | RF | 111 | 103 | 2,688 | 199 | 1.8 | 196 | 190 | 6 | 3 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .985 | 1.97 |
1990 Tigers | CF | 3 | 2 | 54 | 4 | 1.3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.00 |
1990 Tigers | RF | 94 | 86 | 2,295 | 216 | 2.3 | 210 | 203 | 7 | 6 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .972 | 2.47 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
CF Totals | 1,470 | 1,412 | 37,263 | 4,224 | 2.9 | 4,166 | 4,081 | 85 | 58 | 19 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .986 | 3.02 | |
RF Totals | 458 | 434 | 11,427 | 958 | 2.1 | 935 | 902 | 33 | 23 | 6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .976 | 2.21 | |
3B Totals | 6 | 5 | 129 | 13 | 2.2 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .923 | 2.51 | |
LF Totals | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 | |
2B Totals | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 | |
16 Years | 1,936 | 1,851 | 48,828 | 5,195 | 2.7 | 5,113 | 4,988 | 125 | 82 | 25 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .984 | 2.83 |
Chet LemonChet Lemon Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1975 White Sox | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 5.8 | 35.0 | - | - | - |
1976 White Sox | 13 | 7 | .650 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 112.8 | 6.9 | 11.9 | - | - | - |
1977 White Sox | 8 | 7 | .533 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29.1 | 6.3 | 8.3 | - | - | - |
1978 White Sox | 5 | 9 | .357 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 27.5 | 7.8 | 6.5 | - | - | - |
1979 White Sox | 7 | 11 | .389 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 32.7 | 8.2 | 6.5 | - | - | - |
1980 White Sox | 6 | 6 | .500 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 46.7 | 9.2 | 10.1 | - | - | - |
1981 White Sox | 5 | 8 | .385 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36.4 | 6.8 | 6.6 | - | - | - |
1982 Tigers | 1 | 4 | .200 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 22.9 | 6.3 | 8.4 | - | - | - |
1983 Tigers | 0 | 7 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 20.5 | 7.0 | 7.1 | - | - | - |
1984 Tigers | 5 | 5 | .500 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 25.5 | 6.1 | 6.7 | - | - | - |
1985 Tigers | 0 | 2 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28.7 | 5.6 | 7.6 | - | - | - |
1986 Tigers | 2 | 1 | .667 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 33.6 | 7.6 | 7.6 | - | - | - |
1987 Tigers | 0 | 0 | .000 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 23.5 | 5.7 | 6.3 | - | - | - |
1988 Tigers | 1 | 2 | .333 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 30.1 | 7.9 | 8.0 | - | - | - |
1989 Tigers | 1 | 5 | .167 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 59.1 | 5.8 | 8.8 | - | - | - |
1990 Tigers | 3 | 2 | .600 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 64.4 | 5.3 | 10.1 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
16 Years | 58 | 76 | .433 | 74 | 6 | 41 | 31.9 | 6.7 | 7.8 | - | - | - |
Chet LemonChet Lemon Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1975 Chicago White Sox | 2 | $15,000.00 | - | - |
1976 Chicago White Sox | 44 | $19,000.00 | - | - |
1977 Chicago White Sox | 44 | $45,500.00 | - | - |
1978 Chicago White Sox | 44 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1979 Chicago White Sox | 44 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1980 Chicago White Sox | 44 | Undetermined | - | - |
1981 Chicago White Sox | 44 | Undetermined | - | - |
1982 Detroit Tigers | 34 | Undetermined | - | - |
1983 Detroit Tigers | 34 | Undetermined | - | - |
1984 Detroit Tigers | 34 | Undetermined | Stats | Stats |
1985 Detroit Tigers | 34 | $670,000.00 | - | - |
1986 Detroit Tigers | 34 | $698,571.00 | - | - |
1987 Detroit Tigers | 34 | $698,571.00 | - | - |
1988 Detroit Tigers | 34 | $828,571.00 | - | - |
1989 Detroit Tigers | 34 | $828,571.00 | - | - |
1990 Detroit Tigers | 34 | $828,571.00 | - | - |
Chet Lemon Stats by Baseball Almanac |
As with many baseball players, baseball was not the only sport that Lemon played in his youth. At Fremont High School, Lemon was a running back on the football team. One of his lead blockers was another running back by the name of Ricky Bell, who would become a Consensus All-American running back at the University of Southern California and would later be selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the first overall pick in the 1977 NFL Draft.
"On July 24, 1983, the Detroit Tigers defeated the California Angels, 4-3 in twelve innings, at Anaheim Stadium. In the bottom of the twelfth inning with two outs, Tigers centerfielder Chet Lemon made a game-saving catch, leaping above the wall, to take a game-winning home run away from Rod Carew of the Angels. In 1986, WDIV-TV (Detroit, MI) used that game footage and additional footage of Chet Lemon for Tigers games promos:
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