He was traded to the Tigers in 1982, after seven years with the White Sox. He spent the final nine seasons of his 16-year MLB career in Detroit, winning the World Series in 1984.

Lemon played seven seasons with the Chicago White Sox from 1975 to '81 and nine with the Tigers from 1982 to '90. He batted .273 with 215 homers, 884 RBIs, 973 runs and 1,875 hits in 1,988 games.