He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1987 to 1994 for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 1971, McClendon played in the Little League World Series for his hometown Gary, Indiana, team, and earned the nickname "Legendary Lloyd" by homering in five consecutive at bats.

43 years later, shortly before Strawberry had his uniform number 18 retired by the New York Mets, Strawberry recalled in an interview how helpful both Dusan and McClendon had been helping him survive a particularly challenging season and enabling him to go on to a successful major league career.

[7][8] After the 1982 season, he was traded along with two other players to the Cincinnati Reds in a deal to bring Mets legend Tom Seaver back to New York.

1983 was the first season in which McClendon began to get significant time at positions other than catcher, playing both third and first base while with the Waterbury Reds.

McClendon made his major league debut on Opening Day in 1987 as a pinch hitter,[9] He spent most of the season with the Reds, aside from a brief return to the minors with the Nashville Sounds in August.

In the 1992 postseason, he batted .727 while playing in five games of the 1992 National League Championship Series, collecting eight hits in eleven at-bats.

After retiring from playing, McClendon served as a hitting coach for the Pirates until he was appointed manager after the 2000 season.

[13] When Jim Leyland was hired as manager of the Detroit Tigers, he brought former player McClendon on board as bullpen coach.

The Tigers did not have an official bench coach until Gene Lamont was named to that position for the 2013 season, but McClendon served a part of that role as acting manager in the absence of Jim Leyland.

[14][15] A Detroit player won the American League batting title in four of McClendon's seven seasons as the team's hitting coach.

On November 5, 2013, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported that McClendon would be the new Seattle Mariners manager.

[13] On November 23, 2015, McClendon was hired as the manager of the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, the Toledo Mud Hens.

On October 21, 2016, McClendon was named the Tigers' hitting coach, a position he previously held with the team from 2007 to 2013.

[23][24] After the 2020 season, the Tigers named A. J. Hinch as the team's new manager, and McClendon was not retained on the coaching staff.

[25][26] On January 27, 2022, McClendon was hired to manage the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, the Toledo Mud Hens for a second time, following the promotion of Mud Hens manager Gary Jones to first base coach for the major league team.

"[28] On June 26, 2001, in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers, McClendon saw two questionable calls made against his Pirates by the first base umpire, Rick Reed.

After being ejected from the game, McClendon removed first base and walked off the field with it, later throwing it into the dugout, where a batboy placed a Pirates cap on top of it.

"[31] However, on June 2, 2015,[32] McClendon once again made national news after challenging the entire umpire crew after a couple of questionable check-swing calls by Brett Gardner and Alex Rodriguez during the Mariners game against the New York Yankees.

[35] On October 30, 2012, McClendon was interviewed by the Miami Marlins as a candidate to succeed Ozzie Guillén, who was fired after a single season.