Tigers great Lemon dead at 70

Chet Lemon has died at the age of 70.

The family of the Detroit Tigers great announced his passing on Thursday.

A three-time All-Star, the centre fielder won the 1984 World Series with the Tigers.

Lemon had been in poor health for several years after initially being diagnosed with a blood disorder in 1990.

Born in Jackson, MS and raised in Los Angeles, Lemon had incurred 13 documented strokes and was living in an assisted living facility in Florida. Diagnosed with aphasia, Lemon had lost the ability to walk and talk.

“We've been to the hospital no less than 12 times a year — with some of them being extended stays — for the last 30 years,” Lemon's wife, Gigi, told the Detroit Free Press's Jeff Seidel last August. “I mean, we used to knock on wood every time we could go a month without being in the hospital.”

Originally taken with the 22nd overall selection of the 1972 MLB Amateur Draft by the Oakland Athletics, Lemon was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1975. He would make his big league debut for the Southsiders in 1975.

Lemon was named to his first All-Star team in 1978 and was an All-Star again the following season. In late 1981, Lemon was dealt to the Tigers for Steve Kemp.

While Lemon had a poor offensive postseason in 1984, he famously made a terrific catch in the Tigers' Game 3 victory over the San Diego Padres in the World Series when he robbed Terry Kennedy of extra bases in the seventh inning.

Lemon finished his career in 1990 with 1,988 games played over 16 seasons.

For his career, Lemon hit .273 with 1,875 hits, 215 home runs, 884 runs batted in and a .794 OPS.

After his retirement, Lemon became involved with youth baseball, coaching high school and starting "Chet Lemon's Juice," a traveling program that helped produced a number of future big leaguers including Zach Greinke, Brady Singer and Kerry Carpenter.