Bob Lemon

Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1941-1958)

Bob Lemon was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1958 for the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 18 seasons. Across 460 career appearances, he went 207-128 with a 3.23 ERA, 1,277 strikeouts, and 22 saves. He also batted .232 with 37 home runs. Bob Lemon was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976 and was a 7-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 14410.2.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

⭐ Hall of Fame 1976
W–L 207–128
ERA 3.23
WHIP 1.34
SO 1,277
Pitcher PIV 14410.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 180 lb
Born
9/22/1920 in San Bernardino, CA, USA
Died
1/11/2000 in Long Beach, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1941-09-09
Last Game
1958-07-01
Hall of Fame
Inducted 1976 (BBWAA)
Awards
7× All-Star

Full name: Robert Granville Lemon

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bob Lemon — 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 2,559 1,024 181 1,251 1,277 3.23 14410.2

Career ERA 3.23 vs. league average 3.96 across their career seasons — 18.4% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Lemon Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1946 CLE AL 4 5 32 5 1 0 1 94.0 77 26 68 39 2.49 3.59 (+31%) -1114.4
1947 CLE AL 11 5 37 15 6 1 3 167.1 150 64 97 65 3.44 3.97 (+13%) -1263.8
1948 CLE AL 20 14 43 37 20 10 2 293.2 231 92 129 147 2.82 4.10 (+31%) 3522.7
1949 CLE AL 22 10 37 33 22 2 1 279.2 211 93 137 138 2.99 4.12 (+27%) 1309.7
1950 CLE AL 23 11 44 37 22 3 3 288.0 281 123 146 170 3.84 4.36 (+12%) 1145.1
1951 CLE AL 17 14 42 34 17 1 2 263.1 244 103 124 132 3.52 4.04 (+13%) 1320.0
1952 CLE AL 22 11 42 36 28 5 4 309.2 236 86 105 131 2.50 3.70 (+32%) 3742.4
1953 CLE AL 21 15 41 36 23 5 1 286.2 283 107 110 98 3.36 4.14 (+19%) 1811.7
1954 CLE AL 23 7 36 33 21 2 0 258.1 228 78 92 110 2.72 3.90 (+30%) 4310.8
1955 CLE AL 18 10 35 31 5 0 2 211.1 218 91 74 100 3.88 4.00 (+3%) 2263.0
1956 CLE AL 20 14 39 35 21 2 3 255.1 230 86 89 94 3.03 3.96 (+24%) 298.0
1957 CLE AL 6 11 21 17 2 0 0 117.1 129 60 64 45 4.60 3.83 (-20%) -1962.4
1958 CLE AL 0 1 11 1 0 0 0 25.1 41 15 16 8 5.33 3.86 (-38%) -972.7
Career · 13 seasons 207 128 460 350 188 31 22 2,850.0 2,559 1,024 1,251 1,277 3.23 — 14,410

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Bob Lemon — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
615 1,183 148 274 54 9 37 147 2 93 241 .232 .288 .386 .674 -787

Career AVG .232 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 10.9% below league average.

Career OBP .288 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 13.5% below league average.

Career SLG .386 vs. league average .382 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .674 vs. league average .715 across their career seasons — 5.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Lemon Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1941 CLE AL 5 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250 — — — — 0.0
1942 CLE AL 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
1946 CLE AL 55 89 9 16 3 0 1 4 0 7 18 .180 .256 (-30%) .328 (-27%) .358 (-31%) .687 (-29%) -406.0
1947 CLE AL 47 56 11 18 4 3 2 5 0 6 9 .321 .262 (+23%) .336 (+15%) .376 (+61%) .712 (+39%) 343.5
1948 CLE AL 52 119 20 34 9 0 5 21 0 8 23 .286 .263 (+8%) .340 (-3%) .379 (+29%) .719 (+14%) 233.5
1949 CLE AL 46 108 17 29 6 2 7 19 0 10 20 .269 .262 (+2%) .343 (-4%) .384 (+45%) .727 (+22%) 343.2
1950 CLE AL 72 136 21 37 9 1 6 26 0 13 25 .272 .265 (+2%) .346 (-2%) .401 (+21%) .747 (+10%) 222.6
1951 CLE AL 56 102 11 21 4 1 3 13 0 9 22 .206 .260 (-21%) .336 (-20%) .385 (-8%) .721 (-14%) -250.8
1952 CLE AL 54 124 14 28 5 0 2 9 0 4 21 .226 .252 (-11%) .326 (-23%) .369 (-15%) .696 (-19%) -395.3
1953 CLE AL 51 112 12 26 9 1 2 17 2 7 20 .232 .264 (-12%) .335 (-17%) .397 (-3%) .733 (-10%) -219.1
1954 CLE AL 40 98 11 21 4 1 2 10 0 6 24 .214 .261 (-18%) .333 (-23%) .390 (-14%) .723 (-18%) -311.2
1955 CLE AL 49 78 11 19 0 0 1 9 0 13 16 .244 .258 (-6%) .332 (+4%) .393 (-28%) .726 (-14%) -139.0
1956 CLE AL 43 93 8 18 0 0 5 12 0 9 21 .194 .258 (-25%) .331 (-18%) .397 (-11%) .728 (-14%) -208.6
1957 CLE AL 25 46 2 3 1 0 1 1 0 0 14 .065 — — — — 0.0
1958 CLE AL 15 13 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 .231 — — — — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 615 1,183 148 274 54 9 37 147 2 93 241 .232 — — — — -787

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Bob Lemon — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
5 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Bob Lemon — 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 .000
1948 WS CLE 2 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bob Lemon — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 2 4 4 0 29.2 32 13 15 17 3.94

Playoff Pitching by Year

Bob Lemon — 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 13.1 16 10 8 11 6.75
1948 WS CLE 2 0 2 2 0 16.1 16 3 7 6 1.65

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1075 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Bob Lemon — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home291542761192674.220
Away324637721551174.243

Pitching — Home / Away

Bob Lemon — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2171425.012034836446543.05
Away2431426.113565416076243.41

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bob Lemon — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1958-07-01 CLECHWL 110000000
1958-06-29 CLEBALL 101000000
1958-06-29 CLEBALL 100000001
1958-06-28 CLEBALW 101000100
1958-06-21 CLEMINL 100000000
1958-06-19 CLENYYL 201000011
1958-06-12 CLEBALL 200000000
1958-06-11 CLEBALL 100000000
1958-06-09 CLEBALL 200000001
1958-06-04 CLEBOSW 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bob Lemon — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1958-06-29 CLEBAL — 0.2433210
1958-06-19 CLENYY — 6.01266603
1958-06-12 CLEBAL — 2.2500030
1958-06-11 CLEBAL — 1.2300100
1958-06-09 CLEBAL — 5.0211330
1958-06-04 CLEBOS — 1.0100000
1958-06-01 CLEKC1 — 1.0200000
1958-05-30 CLEKC1 — 2.0200000
1958-05-25 CLENYY — 2.0222310
1958-04-22 CLEKC1 L 1.0522000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bob Lemon — 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

Bob Lemon — 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 OF 12 0 33 2 1 2
1946 CLE P 32 0 13 28 1 5
1947 CLE OF 2 0 1 0 0 0
1947 CLE P 37 0 12 46 1 4
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 Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bob Lemon Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 460
Third Base 2
Center Field 13
Right Field 1

Awards & Honors

Bob Lemon — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1954 TSN All-Star P
1954 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1950 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1950 TSN All-Star P
1950 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1948 Baseball Magazine All-Star P1
1948 TSN All-Star P
1948 TSN Pitcher of the Year

Award Voting History

Bob Lemon — 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

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Bob Lemon (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Hal Newhouser HOF
    207-150, 3.06 ERA
  2. 97
    Bullet Joe Bush
    195-183, 3.51 ERA
  3. 95
    Virgil Trucks
    177-135, 3.39 ERA
  4. 91
    Bob Shawkey
    196-150, 3.09 ERA
  5. 88
    Tommy Bridges
    194-138, 3.57 ERA
  6. 87
    Lefty Gomez HOF
    189-102, 3.34 ERA

Compare Bob Lemon

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Lemon's closest peers by position and era.

vs Cy Young
vs Walter Johnson
vs Curt Schilling
vs Clayton Kershaw
vs Christy Mathewson
vs Lefty Grove

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Bob Lemon: the record in brief

September 9, 1941 and July 1, 1958 bracket Bob Lemon's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Every season row on the page belongs to the Cleveland Indians, from 1941 through 1958. Lemon, born on September 22, 1920, in San Bernardino, CA, USA, is listed as a pitcher and hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. The bio gives 6-foot-0 and 180 pounds. The bio records the death on January 11, 2000, in Long Beach, CA, USA. The given name on file is Robert Granville Lemon.

Across 460 games (350 starts), Lemon recorded 207 wins against 128 losses with a 3.23 ERA. The same table counts 1,277 strikeouts, 188 complete games, 31 shutouts, and 22 saves. Against a 3.96 league ERA for the same years, Lemon was 18.4% better. 1950 brought Lemon a season-high 23 wins. In 1952, one of the busiest seasons, Lemon posted a 2.50 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.70. Pitcher PIV, the site's era-adjusted run-prevention measure, totals 14,410.2 for Lemon's career.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Lemon

What years did Bob Lemon play?
Bob Lemon played in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1958.
Was Bob Lemon a pitcher?
Yes. Bob Lemon pitched in the major leagues, recording 207 wins and 1277 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bob Lemon hit?
Bob Lemon hit 37 career home runs with 274 hits.
Is Bob Lemon in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Bob Lemon was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976.
What teams did Bob Lemon play for?
Bob Lemon played for one team, the Cleveland Indians (1941–1942, 1946–1958).
Did Bob Lemon win a Cy Young Award?
No. Bob Lemon did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Bob Lemon win?
Bob Lemon was selected to 7 All-Star Games.
What were Bob Lemon's career stats?
In 460 games, Bob Lemon went 207-128 with a 3.23 ERA, 1,277 strikeouts, 2,850.0 innings pitched, and 22 saves. At the plate he had 274 hits and 37 home runs.
What position did Bob Lemon play?
Bob Lemon played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Bob Lemon and how much did he weigh?
Bob Lemon was listed at 6 feet and 180 pounds.
What was Bob Lemon's career ERA?
Bob Lemon finished with a 3.23 career ERA, going 207-128 with 1,277 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Bob Lemon have?
Bob Lemon recorded 1,277 career strikeouts.
How many All-Star Games did Bob Lemon make?
Bob Lemon was selected to 7 All-Star Games.