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Chet Lemon, a three-time American League All-Star outfielder, died Thursday at his home in Florida. He was 70.
"He was sleeping on his reclining sofa," Gigi Lemon, his wife, told the Detroit Free Press. "He just wasn't responsive."
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Lemon played 16 seasons (1975-90) at the major league level with the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. In 1984, he made his only World Series appearance of his career and helped Detroit defeat the San Diego Padres for the championship.
Lemon hit 215 home runs, drove in 884, and batted .273 in his career.
In recent years, Lemon had been battling strokes and aphasia and was confined to a wheelchair. Still, just last year, he celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Tigers' 1984 championship with teammates on the field at Comerica Park.
A first-round draft pick out of high school by the Oakland A's in 1972, Lemon was traded from Oakland to Chicago as a minor leaguer. Lemon debuted with the White Sox at age 20 in 1975, seeing time at third base and center field in nine games.
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He would settle into center field the following season, hitting .246 in 132 games, and make that his primary position over the next six seasons on Chicago's South Side. Lemon made the first two of his three All-Star Game appearances in a White Sox uniform in 1978 and 1979.
In Nov. 1981, the White Sox traded Lemon to the Detroit Tigers for Steve Kemp. In Detroit, Lemon would join an emerging nucleus of players that included Lou Whitaker, Kirk Gibson, future Hall of Famer Alan Trammell, and others to form one of the American League's most potent teams.
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By then, Lemon was himself one of the better-hitting outfielders in the AL. The change of scenery allowed him to take his power to new heights, as Lemon averaged 19 home runs per season from 1982-88.
Lemon hit .294 in the Tigers' five-game World Series win over the Padres in 1984.
RIP Chet Lemon.
— Josh Moulton (@JoshMoulton) May 8, 2025
Back in 1999, our varsity baseball team spent a week in Orlando with Chet. (He’s in this pic, red jacket in the middle. My arm around him)
It was an amazing experience and he taught us a lot. He’d say to me after running us hard “Doc, your hammies hurtin’?” ? pic.twitter.com/mvxpLHEsy9
Lemon retired after slashing .258/.359/.379 for the Tigers in 1990, returned to his home in Florida and turned his attention to coaching youth baseball. Future major leaguers Prince Fielder, Zack Greinke, and Billy Butler are among the alumni of his program.
The Detroit Tigers join all of baseball in mourning the passing of Chet Lemon. While he was a World Series Champion and All-Star on the field, perhaps his biggest impact came off of it. That includes creating the Chet Lemon Foundation and dedicating much of his post-playing… pic.twitter.com/oXE4Om58RG
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) May 8, 2025
Lemon told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in a 1998 interview that he wanted to be remembered more for helping youth athletes than his playing career in MLB.
"I never pulled that 'major league' stuff on anybody," he said.
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About the writer
J.P. Hoornstra writes and edits Major League Baseball content. A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers ... Read more