Bob Lemon
⭐ Hall of Fame 1976
Born: 9/22/1920 in San Bernardino, CA, USA
Died: 1/11/2000 in Long Beach, CA, USA
MLB Debut: 1941-09-09 | Final Game: 1958-07-01
Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 180 lbs
Full name: Robert Granville Lemon
Biography
Bob Lemon was a prominent American baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1941 to 1958. Born in 1920, he made a significant impact in Major League Baseball, particularly with the Cleveland Indians, where he established himself as one of the era's top pitchers. Lemon finished his career with a record of 207-128 and an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 3.23. He struck out 1,277 batters and recorded 22 saves, showcasing his versatility and effectiveness on the mound. His ability to perform consistently in high-pressure situations earned him seven All-Star selections, reflecting his stature among his peers during the post-World War II era, a time when the game was rapidly evolving.
Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976, Lemon's legacy is marked by both his statistical accomplishments and his role in the game during a transformative period. He was known for his competitive spirit and exceptional pitching skills, which contributed to the success of the Indians in the 1940s and 1950s. Lemon's contributions to baseball not only solidified his place in history but also inspired future generations of pitchers, making him a respected figure in the annals of the sport.
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
Batting
| PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34.0 | 33.0 | 5.0 | 11.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.353 | 0.727 | 1.080 |
Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14.0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 35.0 | 19.0 | 11.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.20 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
| Season | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.357 | 0.357 | 0.786 | 1.143 |
| 1947 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.273 | 0.273 | 0.636 | 0.909 |
| 1948 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.375 | 0.444 | 0.750 | 1.194 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
| Season | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | 11.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 13.0 | 8.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.44 |
| 1948 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 22.0 | 11.0 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.15 |
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 207 | 128 | 460 | 350 | 188 | 31 | 22 | 2850.0 | 2559 | 1024 | 181 | 1251 | 1277 | 3.23 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | CLE | AL | 4 | 5 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 94.0 | 77 | 26 | 68 | 39 | 2.49 | -973.2 |
| 1947 | CLE | AL | 11 | 5 | 37 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 167.3 | 150 | 64 | 97 | 65 | 3.44 | -816.8 |
| 1948 | CLE | AL | 20 | 14 | 43 | 37 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 293.7 | 231 | 92 | 129 | 147 | 2.82 | 4553.8 |
| 1949 | CLE | AL | 22 | 10 | 37 | 33 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 279.7 | 211 | 93 | 137 | 138 | 2.99 | 1309.7 |
| 1950 | CLE | AL | 23 | 11 | 44 | 37 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 288.0 | 281 | 123 | 146 | 170 | 3.84 | 1145.1 |
| 1951 | CLE | AL | 17 | 14 | 42 | 34 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 263.3 | 244 | 103 | 124 | 132 | 3.52 | 1320.0 |
| 1952 | CLE | AL | 22 | 11 | 42 | 36 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 309.7 | 236 | 86 | 105 | 131 | 2.50 | 3742.4 |
| 1953 | CLE | AL | 21 | 15 | 41 | 36 | 23 | 5 | 1 | 286.7 | 283 | 107 | 110 | 98 | 3.36 | 1811.7 |
| 1954 | CLE | AL | 23 | 7 | 36 | 33 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 258.3 | 228 | 78 | 92 | 110 | 2.72 | 4310.8 |
| 1955 | CLE | AL | 18 | 10 | 35 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 211.3 | 218 | 91 | 74 | 100 | 3.88 | 2263.0 |
| 1956 | CLE | AL | 20 | 14 | 39 | 35 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 255.3 | 230 | 86 | 89 | 94 | 3.03 | 298.0 |
| 1957 | CLE | AL | 6 | 11 | 21 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 117.3 | 129 | 60 | 64 | 45 | 4.60 | -2012.2 |
| 1958 | CLE | AL | 0 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25.3 | 41 | 15 | 16 | 8 | 5.33 | -978.1 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 615 | 1183 | 148 | 274 | 54 | 9 | 37 | 147 | 2 | 93 | 241 | 0.232 | 0.288 | 0.386 | 0.674 | -989.3 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | CLE | AL | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.250 | 0.0 |
| 1942 | CLE | AL | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1946 | CLE | AL | 55 | 89 | 9 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 0.180 | -450.4 |
| 1947 | CLE | AL | 47 | 56 | 11 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0.321 | 343.3 |
| 1948 | CLE | AL | 52 | 119 | 20 | 34 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 0 | 8 | 23 | 0.286 | 221.6 |
| 1949 | CLE | AL | 46 | 108 | 17 | 29 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 19 | 0 | 10 | 20 | 0.269 | 343.2 |
| 1950 | CLE | AL | 72 | 136 | 21 | 37 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 26 | 0 | 13 | 25 | 0.272 | 222.6 |
| 1951 | CLE | AL | 56 | 102 | 11 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 22 | 0.206 | -278.1 |
| 1952 | CLE | AL | 54 | 124 | 14 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 0.226 | -436.9 |
| 1953 | CLE | AL | 51 | 112 | 12 | 26 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 20 | 0.232 | -240.9 |
| 1954 | CLE | AL | 40 | 98 | 11 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 24 | 0.214 | -335.4 |
| 1955 | CLE | AL | 49 | 78 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 16 | 0.244 | -152.2 |
| 1956 | CLE | AL | 43 | 93 | 8 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 9 | 21 | 0.194 | -226.1 |
| 1957 | CLE | AL | 25 | 46 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0.065 | 0.0 |
| 1958 | CLE | AL | 15 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.231 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | WS | CLE | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.000 |
| 1948 | WS | CLE | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 29.7 | 32 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 3.94 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | WS | CLE | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13.3 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 6.75 |
| 1948 | WS | CLE | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 16.3 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 1.65 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| OF | 14 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| P | 460 | 117 | 263 | 709 | 31 | 78 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | CLE | 3B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942 | CLE | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1946 | CLE | P | 32 | 0 | 13 | 28 | 1 | 5 |
| 1946 | CLE | OF | 12 | 0 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 1947 | CLE | P | 37 | 0 | 12 | 46 | 1 | 4 |
| 1947 | CLE | OF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948 | CLE | P | 43 | 0 | 23 | 86 | 4 | 8 |
| 1949 | CLE | P | 37 | 0 | 34 | 71 | 4 | 5 |
| 1950 | CLE | P | 44 | 0 | 22 | 66 | 4 | 6 |
| 1951 | CLE | P | 42 | 0 | 21 | 60 | 2 | 5 |
| 1952 | CLE | P | 42 | 0 | 32 | 79 | 2 | 7 |
| 1953 | CLE | P | 41 | 0 | 31 | 74 | 3 | 15 |
| 1954 | CLE | P | 36 | 33 | 22 | 57 | 3 | 8 |
| 1955 | CLE | P | 35 | 31 | 16 | 43 | 1 | 3 |
| 1956 | CLE | P | 39 | 35 | 24 | 61 | 6 | 6 |
| 1957 | CLE | P | 21 | 17 | 12 | 31 | 0 | 5 |
| 1958 | CLE | P | 11 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 460 |
| Third Base | 2 |
| Center Field | 13 |
| Right Field | 1 |
Awards & Honors
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 10th | 40.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1954 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 5th | 179.0 | 336 | 5 |
| 1953 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 16th | 22.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1952 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 8th | 58.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1950 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 5th | 102.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1949 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 9th | 57.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1948 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 5th | 101.0 | 336 | 0 |