As part of his series on former Detroit sports figures, Bill Dow caught up with former 1984 Detroit Tigers World Champion centerfielder Chet Lemon.
How we remember him
The outstanding centerfielder for the Tigers during most of the 1980s played a key role in helping Detroit capture the 1984 World Series, batting .287 with 20 home runs, 60 extra-base hits and 76 RBIs while compiling a career-high .995 fielding percentage with only two errors in 438 chances.
Lemon scored the lone run in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against Kansas City before batting .294 in the World Series. In Game 3 of the World Series at Tiger Stadium, he made a spectacular running catch in deep center to help preserve a 5-2 victory.
The year before Lemon made one of his greatest catches ever when he ended a game in Anaheim by robbing the Angels’s Rod Carew of what would have been a walk-off 12th-inning homer.
A fan favorite, Lemon is often remembered for his occasional head-first slides into first base and for getting hit by pitches — partially because his batting stance was so close to the plate — as he led the AL four seasons (’79, ’81,’82, ’83) in the latter category.
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Lemon, raised in Los Angeles, was drafted as an infielder by Oakland in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1972 MLB draft then traded to the White Sox in ’75, when he was converted to the outfield. He became one of the game’s best center fielders while in Chicago. His 512 outfield putouts in 1977 still stands as an A Lrecord.
In a blockbuster trade Nov. 27, 1981 he was acquired by the Tigers for slugging left fielder Steve Kemp. During nine seasons with Detroit, Lemon batted .263, with 142 homers and 536 RBIs. He finished his 16-year career with a .273 batting average, 215 homers, 884 RBIs and a .984 fielding percentage.
After the Tigers
In 1990 he was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder and, while nursing multiple injuries, he played in just 104 games before being waived by the Tigers following spring training in 1991. He nearly died from a blood clot later that year.
In 1993 he established the Chet Lemon Baseball School in Lake Mary, Florida, coached winning AAU teams, and, as head coach for Eustis High School, he led the Panthers to the 2003 state championship.
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Chet Lemon today
Lemon, 66, lives near Orlando, Florida with his wife Gigi. He continues to coach and operate Chet Lemon’s Juice, one of the top youth baseball programs in the country.
He is the director of baseball operations for Chet Lemon’s Big Yard, based out of the “Big House” — a 165,000-square foot indoor training facility in Tavares, Florida. His baseball program has produced 71 first-round MLB draft choices.
Growing up in Los Angeles
“I grew up listening to Vin Scully and watched the Dodgers win world championships with Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Maury Wills and Willie Davis but I really admired Willie Mays playing centerfield. I also liked Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente.
“I was a shortstop and played youth baseball with Ozzie Smith and Eddie Murray because we grew up in the same neighborhood. I knew in high school that one day I would make it to the big leagues. I wasn’t worried about it and I had fun trying to get there.”
On transitioning from infield to outfield
“In my first major league game with the White Sox (1975), I was playing third base and ran in front of our shortstop Bucky Dent trying to get the ball. I was all over the place trying to get every ball that was hit.
“Our manager Chuck Tanner said, ‘Mr. Lemon, I want you to take flyballs every day because we need to get you out of the infield before you kill somebody.’ That’s how I became a center fielder. I took great pride in learning the position so I could become the very best.”
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On 1981 trade to Detroit for Steve Kemp
“I had All-Star seasons in Chicago and had verbally agreed to sign a five-year contract with the White Sox to become the highest-paid player on the team, but then they traded for Carlton Fisk and he signed for a bigger deal. I was immature then and decided not to sign the contract even though they had given me everything I asked for so they traded me.
“But it turned out to be perfect because I was going to play for Detroit, who I knew had a very good young team with Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, Jack Morris, Kirk Gibson and a great manager in Sparky Anderson. You knew that team was on the verge of being great and that it was just a matter of putting it all together. Sparky first put me in right field and that was tough because I had established myself as one of the best center fielders in the game, but I was new to the club and I didn’t want to be difficult. By midseason he put me back in center.”
On his famous 1983 12th-inning game-winning catch in Anaheim
“I always played Rod Carew shallow because he was a line-drive hitter. I never feared anyone hitting a ball over my head because I figured that I could always run back and get it. Rod hit the ball good and to me — it wasn’t complicated. You just try to time your jump and hope you come down with it.
“But I probably made 100 plays in my career that were more difficult. Rod would later say, ‘Man, I made you famous.’ It was an exciting time for us because we were in a pennant race with Baltimore.”
On the 1984 Tigers
“We had a great group of guys who were phenomenal players with leaders like Darrell Evans. He was the man. Darrell was a stabilizing factor in everything we did. Regardless of what we did offensively, defense is what we could do all time and we were so strong up the middle with Lance, Tram, Lou, and me.
“We also had a bunch of team players who filled in and were wonderful like Dave Bergman, Rusty Kuntz and Ruppert Jones. Every time they were called upon, they did their job. The whole town was excited that year with ‘Bless you boys’ and the wave. It was fun going to the ballpark with those big crowds. I was so happy when we finally got it done and finished the year like we started by sweeping Kansas City to win the pennant and then taking four out of five games to win the World Series.
“We were a young team, with most of us in our mid-20 and I just hoped we would all get signed and stay but then we lost Lance, Gibby and Jack. We just needed to add little pieces and we would have been great for a long time. But we came back in ’87 and had an exciting run but it was disappointing when we fell short against the Twins.”
On his Game 3 catch in the ’84 World Series
“I decided to play everyone shallow and take away every base hit. I felt like there wasn’t a ball that they could hit that I wasn’t going to catch. I wanted them to try and hit the ball over my head.
“When Terry Kennedy hit it I got a great jump off the ball and I was off to the races. I first turned to my right but I eventually turned to my left and caught it. That crowd was fired up when I made the play and my teammates were so excited when I got to the dugout.”
On playing centerfield
“One good thing was that year in and year out, we played against the same guys and I studied all the hitters, even in batting practice. Before games, I would run out into the outfield and run to the left and right and all the pigeons would move away because it was like, ‘Here comes Chet.’
“I did a lot of things instinctively because of the athlete that I was. I learned not to be afraid to play shallow because I knew I had the speed to go back. I loved the big outfields like in Chicago and Detroit because you had all that space to chase balls down and then see the hitters make a U-turn into the dugout. I challenged myself every time I took the field.”
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On being hit by pitches and sliding headfirst into first base
“I had a short-to-the-baseball swing and was close to the plate so I could turn on an inside pitch and also be able to reach the outside pitch. I hit where I thought I would be successful. I wasn’t afraid of getting hit. No one was going to back me off the plate just because they pitched me in. It’s the way I played the game.
“When I was younger, I sometimes went out to the mound but then I realized the pitchers were probably just trying to pitch me in and not trying to hit me. Sparky wore me out trying to tell me not to slide headfirst. (General manager) Bill LaJoie called me in one day he said, ‘Chet, we’re trying to win a World Series, and the next time you dive into first base it’s going to cost you.’
“The next game I hit a ball deep at short and took flight headfirst and was safe. After the game, he came to my locker and said, ‘You just can’t help it’. I told him that I didn’t know how to play the game any other way and he said, ‘I understand but you have to take care of yourself.’ I knew it was dangerous because I did jam my hand a couple of times and didn’t tell anybody.”
On using the same glove
“I only had two Rawlings gloves. The first one I had totally worn out and the second one I started using around my fourth year and used it until the end. It had been stitched up and patched so many times that you couldn’t see the printing on the glove. The company wanted to put a new face on it but I didn’t want them to mess with it. It had been so reliable for me.
“No one else would ever have wanted to use it because it had been stitched up so many times. Guys on other teams, like George Brett always wanted to see it. The Hall of Fame even asked for it. One time in Cleveland, someone hid it on me and man, I was really upset. I told Sparky and he told the team, ‘If one of you have Chet’s glove you need to give it back to him now.’ All of a sudden I got it back. I still have it and it’s in my pantry.”
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On coaching youth baseball
“I’ve enjoyed working with kids ever since I left pro ball and I’m proud that I’ve had 71 first-round draft choices go through my baseball program including Prince Fielder, Zach Greinke, Billy Butler, Rickie Weeks and Brady Singer. Many were in my system four or five years.
“Everybody talks about the first-rounders but we have a lot who went on to obtain college scholarships. All these players have been like family to me and I’ve received a lot of love from them and they know how much I care about them. I always tell kids to play the game as hard as you can so that they can look in the mirror and be able to say, ‘I gave everything I have and left it all on the field.’
“When they leave the game, they need to know that they didn’t cheat themselves. They learn great life lessons about teamwork, winning and losing and things you will experience in life.”
On nearly dying in 1991
“In 1990 I was diagnosed with polycythemia vera, a rare blood disorder that increases red blood cells, makes your blood thicker and can cause blood clots. The next year I was hospitalized for a month with a blood clot and almost died. Doctors can’t believe that I’m still alive. It put life in perspective for me.
“All those things that used to be important like driving fancy cars and material things don’t seem as important. God has left me with a lot of great things that I don’t take for granted. For the past two years, I have been pretty healthy. I have a great family, a lot of good friends and continue to enjoy coaching youth baseball.
“When I go back to Detroit, it’s like I never left. Detroit is home and my wife is from there. People are so nice to me, and the Tigers have treated me first class.”
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