What a card: This is the first card of the defending World Series champion Detroit Tigers. Chet Lemon was the starting center fielder for the 1984 Tigers.
My observation on the front: A nice action shot of Lemon batting in old Tiger Stadium. Takes me back.
More opinion from me: Lemon was one of those players that I thought I pulled every year as a kid. I was convinced that I had every card issued of Lemon and Garry Maddox. I actually didn't, but because I thought I did, they automatically became favorites. You know those guys who didn't play on your favorite team but you still liked? Lemon was one of those guys. Nowadays when I pull a player's card repeatedly (*cough* Carlos Lee), he doesn't become a favorite. Instead I start to resent the player. How did I get so cranky?
Something you might know: Lemon played the outfield his entire major league career, but was an infielder in the minor leagues. When he broke into the majors with the White Sox in 1975, he played third base.
Something you might not know: Lemon's career "success" rate in stolen bases is the third-lowest among players with at least 100 attempts in major league history. He succeeded just 41.8 percent of the time in over 130 attempts.
My observation on the back: Other major leaguers to come out of Fremont in L.A. are Willie Crawford, Eric Davis, Bobby Tolan, Bobby Doerr, and someone who became more famous as a manager, Gene Mauch.
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3 comments:
So, does he use that extra batting glove for sliding?
This is my favorite baseball set ever - thanks so much for doing this! I loved this card as a kid.
Lemon was notorious for sliding head first. He even slid first into first base on close plays, something that drove his coaches crazy. So the extra glove probably was for sliding.
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