Athletes - Jim Lemon

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	Athletes - Jim Lemon

James Robert Lemon (born March 23, 1928, in Covington, Virginia) is a retired American player, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. A powerful, righthanded hitting and throwing outfielder, Lemon teamed with first baseman Roy Sievers (and, later, Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Harmon Killebrew) to form the most formidable home run-hitting tandem in the 60-year history of the first Washington Senators franchise.

Lemon signed originally with the Cleveland Indians, but he never won a regular job with Cleveland; indeed, he was a "late-bloomer" who required several trips to the minor leagues before finally winning a regular berth with the 1956 Senators at the age of 28. A free-swinger who three times led the American League in striking out, Lemon and his mates benefitted from new Washington owner Calvin Griffith's decision to move the left field fences closer to home plate in the Senators' cavernous ballpark, Griffith Stadium. Lemon smashed 27 homers in 1956, then followed with 26 (1958), 33 (1959) and 38 (1960). He twice compiled over 100 runs batted in and became a favorite of U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower.

However, the home run exploits of Lemon and his mates were more than offset by poor pitching, and after multiple second division finishes in the AL, Griffith moved the Senators to Minneapolis-St. Paul after the 1960 campaign to become the Minnesota Twins. But Lemon left his stroke behind in Washington, and after only 14 homers in Minnesota in 1961 and an injury-ruined 1962, his career wound down quickly. His last year as a player, 1963, was divided among the Twins, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox. All told, he appeared in 1,010 games over all or parts of 12 major league seasons and batted .262 with 164 home runs.

Lemon remained in the game as a coach for the Twins, serving two different terms in that role. In between, in 1968, he returned to Washington as manager of the expansion Senators, but his popularity as a player did not translate to a successful managerial record. His club finished last in the league, winning 65 games and losing 96 (.404) - but it did feature a fearsome, righthanded power-hitter: Frank Howard. Lemon was fired after only one season.

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Athletes - Jim Lemon

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