Chet Lemon Dies at Age 70, 3-Time MLB All-Star Won 1984 World Series With Tigers

Former Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox player Chet Lemon died Thursday at the age of 70.

"He was sleeping on his reclining sofa," his wife, Gigi Lemon, said, per Jeff Seidel and Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press (h/t ESPN). "He just wasn't responsive."

The Tigers released a statement offering their thoughts for his loved ones:

"The Detroit Tigers join all of baseball in mourning the passing of Chet Lemon," the statement said. "While he was a World Series Champion and All-Star on the field, perhaps his biggest impact came off of it. That includes creating the Chet Lemon Foundation and dedicating much of his post-playing career to youth baseball development.

"Our thoughts are with Chet’s family, friends and all those he coached, mentored and inspired."

They also shared statements from his teammates Alan Trammell, Lance Parrish and Dan Petry:

ESPN noted that Lemon suffered from a rare blood disease and also suffered multiple strokes, which took away his ability to walk or talk. However, he still returned to Detroit for the 40th anniversary celebration of the 1984 Tigers team that won a World Series.

He hit .294 with two stolen bases, one RBI and one run in that five-game victory over the San Diego Padres.

Lemon played the first seven years of his career on the White Sox and was a back-to-back All-Star in 1978 and 1979. He played for the Tigers for the final nine years of his career and was an All-Star during that World Series title season in 1984.

In all, Lemon slashed .273/.355/.442 with 215 home runs, 884 RBI and 58 stolen bases during his career. He recorded 512 putouts in the outfield during the 1977 campaign, which still stands as an American League record for outfielders.

But he also made an impact on those around him off the field.

"Chet was the kindest of men, and always had that great smile on his face," Parrish said. "He was also a fierce competitor on the baseball field and a great teammate. I loved him like a brother."