At Home Plate - Baseball Great: Bob Lemon

At Home Plate

Written by Jim Amato (Contact & Archive) on August 14, 2008

He was one of the greatest pitchers in the rich history of the Cleveland Indians. He is enshrined -- rightfully so -- in MLB’s Hall of Fame. He is baseball legend Bob Lemon.

Lemon joined the Indians in 1946 and began an amazing stretch of baseball in 1948. Over the course of seven masterful seasons, he won 20 or more games six times. In total, he won 148 games.

In 1948, the Indians also won their most recent World Series. Lemon won 20 games for the World Champions. He followed that up with 22 in 1949 and 23 in 1950. He dropped off in 1951, but won 43 over the next two seasons.

In 1954, the Tribe dominated the American League. They won the AL pennant and were heavy favorites over the NL champion New York Giants. The Indians rode there on the arms of their “Big Four,” Lemon, Bob Feller, Early Wynn, and Mike Garcia. They were swept, however, in a major upset.

Lemon went on to win 20 games in 1956, but won only six after that. He retired in 1958 after 13 seasons with the Indians. His career mark was 207 wins and 125 losses, which equals a .618 winning percentage. He had seven 20-win seasons, 188 complete games, and 31 shutouts. Oh, and he earned a save 22 times and was one of the best-hitting pitchers of his generation. Feller had 37 career home runs with 147 RBIs.

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