`MODEST' HERO LEMON DIES AT 79; EX-PITCHER LEMON DIES.

Byline: Bob Keisser Staff Writer

LONG BEACH - Bob Lemon, who went from the playgrounds of Long Beach to baseball's Hall of Fame, died Monday night at a convalescent hospital. He was 79.

Lemon won 207 games and two more in the 1948 World Series during his 14-year pitching career with the Cleveland Indians, and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1976. He managed in parts of eight seasons in the majors, including the 1978 New York Yankees, who came from 14 games behind Boston to a memorable World Series title.

Lemon suffered a stroke in December of 1998 and two more last year, the last in November. He is survived by his wife, Jane, and two sons, Jeff and Jim. Funeral arrangements are pending.

``During his prime, he was as good if not better than any pitcher in baseball,'' said baseball legend Bob Feller, his Indians teammate and fellow Hall of Famer. ``He was a great friend and an even greater person.''

``He was our hero,'' said Jack Newman, who saw Lemon play at Wilson High of Long Beach and helped organize a monthly gathering of old Long Beach baseball stars and fans that Lemon would attend. ``Everyone in my age group saw Bob play or played with him, and followed his career with a passion.

``He was an extremely modest man who you could never get to talk about all the things he had achieved. He was as down to earth as any man you'd ever meet.''

A standout third baseman at Wilson in the late '30s, he was named Southern California high school Player of the Year in 1938 and signed with the Cleveland Indians out of high school for $300.

He made a brief stop in the major leagues with the Indians in 1941 and 1942 as a third baseman before spending the next three years in the Navy, where he played, and pitched, on service teams in Los Alamitos and Honolulu.

He returned to the Indians in 194, and was the center fielder for them in an April game against the Yankees. He made a diving catch to save a hit and a run in what would become Feller's second no-hitter.

``He was a great fielder,'' said Feller. ``He just never hit very well. He actually was a better hitter as a pitcher. I wasn't surprised when he became a pitcher, because I knew he had a good arm and heard he was pitching in the Navy.''

A variety of baseball people are credited with Lemon's transition to pitching - Indians shortstop and manager Lou Boudreau, catchers Birdie Tebbetts and Al Lopez, former manager Bill McKechnie, infielders and fellow Navy men Billy Herman and Johnny Pesky, and Indians pitcher Mel Harder, whom Lemon credits with teaching him the curve.

Lemon made the move to the mound for good in 1947, winning 11 games, and became a starter full-time in 1948, at the age of 26.

``He had a great arm, he wanted to learn, and he worked very hard to become a pitcher,'' said Boudreau, his Indians manager. ``He had a natural sinker and he used that to his advantage on a team that was very good defensively.

``He wasn't the strikeout pitcher like Feller, but he got people out. And he was a good hitter as a pitcher. He kept himself in a lot of ballgames because he could hit.''

In 1948, Lemon had his first of seven 20-win seasons, leading the American League in innings (293 2/3), complete games (20) and shutouts (10).

Between 1948 and 1956, Lemon won 188 games, completed 179 of his 312 starts, and was named to the AL All-Star team seven times. Those numbers don't really do him justice, however. The core of his career came before baseball had created the Cy Young Award (1956) to honor the top pitcher in the game.

Lemon also hit 37 career home runs, one behind the all-time pitchers' record of 38 by Wes Farrell, and seven in one season (1949). His career average as a pinch-hitter was .284.

Lemon appeared in two World Series, winning two games in the Indians' six-game 1948 triumph, the last title for the franchise, and losing two in 1954. That season, the Indians won 111 games but lost four straight to the New York Yankees in the World Series. Lemon was the Indians pitcher in Game 1, which was marked by Willie Mays' catch of a Vic Wertz drive to the deepest part of the Polo Grounds.

Lemon retired in 1958, then returned to baseball as a coach and front-office official with the Indians (1960), Phillies (1961) and Angels (1962-68).

Lemon got his first opportunity to manage with the Kansas City Royals in 1970, went 85-76 in 1971, but was fired in 1972. He managed the Chicago White Sox in 1977, going 90-72, but was fired at midseason a year later.

That allowed him to be hired to replace Billy Martin during one of the Yankees' more chaotic seasons. George Steinbrenner had already gone through Martin and Dick Howser before tapping Lemon.

The Yankees went 48-20 under Lemon, making up a 14-game gap on Boston, winning a one-game playoff, beating Kansas City in the ALCS, and then finishing off the Dodgers in six games of the World Series.

``When our team was going through the turmoil (1978), Bob was just what we needed,'' said Steinbrenner in a statement.

BY THE NUMBERS

2 -- Championships Bob Lemon won; one as a player in 1948 and one as a manager in 1978.

7 -- Seasons with 20 wins or more.

37 -- Career home runs Lemon hit, finishing with a .232 career batting average.

LEMON'S CAREER STATISTICS

Here's a look at Bob Lemon's career

numbers and how he fared in the World Series.

------------REGULAR SEASON--------

Year, Team--IP-----W-L------SO-----BB---ERA

1946, Cle---94-----4-5------39-----68---2.49

1947, Cle--167.1--11-5------65-----97---3.44

1948, Cle--293.2--20-14----147----129---2.82

1949, Cle--279.2--22-10----138----137---2.99

1950, Cle--288----23-11----170----146---3.84

1951, Cle--263.1--17-14----132----124---3.52

1952, Cle--309.2--22-11----131----105---2.50

1953, Cle--286.2--21-15-----98----110---3.36

1954, Cle--258.1--23-7-----110-----92---2.72

1955, Cle--211.1--18-10----100-----74---3.88

1956, Cle--255.1--20-14-----94-----89---3.03

1957, Cle--117.1---6-11-----45-----64---4.60

1958, Cle---25.1---0-1-------8-----16---5.33

TOTALS---2,850---207-128-1,277--1,251---3.23

------------WORLD SERIES---------

Year, Opp.--IP-----W-L---SO---BB---ERA

1948, Bos---16.1---2-0----6----7---1.65

1954, NY----13.1---0-2---11----8---6.75

TOTALS------29.2---2-2---17---15---3.94

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo: (1 -- color) Erasing a 14-game Boston lead, Bob Lemon managed the Yankees to a world title in 1978.

G. Paul Burnett/Associated Press

(2) Hall of Famer right-hander Bob Lemon was a seven-time 20-game winner with the Cleveland Indians.

Associated Press

Box: (1) BY THE NUMBERS (see text)

(2) LEMON'S CAREER STATISTICS (see text)