He was selected as an American League All-Star in 1978, 1979, and 1984 and was the starting center fielder for the 1984 Detroit Tigers team that won the 1984 World Series.

He began his professional baseball career in 1972 playing for the Athletics' minor league team in Coos Bay-North Bend, Oregon.

An infielder in the minor leagues, Lemon played third base during his brief stint with the Chicago White Sox in 1975.

He entered spring training 1976 as the leading candidate for the third base job, but after failing to impress manager Paul Richards with his glove, was moved to the outfield.

[9] With the White Sox in sixth place in the American League West, ahead only of the expansion Seattle Mariners, Lemon was selected as his team's lone representative at the 1978 All-Star Game.

He also hit 44 doubles, tying the Milwaukee Brewers' Cecil Cooper for the American League season best total.

The White Sox finished near the bottom of the division standings during most of Lemon's tenure with the club.

With the addition of free agent catcher Carlton Fisk and designated hitter Greg Luzinski, the team improved to 31-22 and finished in third in the first half of the strike shortened 1981 season.

Though his team finished in sixth place in the second half, his stats improved, as he batted .305 with six home runs and drove in 28.

[13] On November 27, 1981, the Detroit Tigers acquired Lemon in a trade that sent Steve Kemp to the Chicago White Sox.

[2] Newspaper columnist Mike Downey opined that uprooting Lemon and his young family, along with a torn rib cage, damaged ligaments in his left wrist, and several pulled muscles, had resulted in the worst season in his major league career.

"[18] On July 24, 1983, he gained national attention for a leaping catch that deprived Rod Carew of a game-winning home run in the 12th inning.

[20] In 1984, the Tigers opened with a 35–5 record, won the American League East by 15 games, and defeated the San Diego Padres in the 1984 World Series.

[2] Offensively, his batting average jumped more than 30 points to .287, and his 60 extra-base hits tied Kirk Gibson for the most on the team.

[22] Reaching the post-season for the first time in his career, Lemon went hitless in thirteen at-bats in the Tigers' three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals in the 1984 American League Championship Series.

[24] He also had "a Willie Mays–style back-to-the-plate catch" on a Terry Kennedy drive to preserve the Tigers' lead in the seventh inning of Game 3.

[25][26] In March 1985, the Tigers signed Lemon to a contract extension running through the 1991 season with a club option to extend through 1992.

He also ranked among the league's leading center fielders with a .992 fielding percentage (second), 348 putouts (third), and a 2.70 range factor (fourth), and helped the 1987 Tigers win the AL East with a record of 98-64.

[30] He failed to hit a home run between early May and late September and concluded the 1990 season with a career-low 378 at bats and only 32 RBIs.

Due to his religious faith, Lemon declined to stand for "The Star-Spangled Banner", a point for which he was sometimes criticized.

[43] In August 2024, ahead of the Detroit Tigers 40th Anniversary World Series Championship reunion in Detroit, Lemon's family revealed that Polycythemia vera, a rare blood disorder, has led to a series of strokes, which has left him unable to speak or walk.