| Mark Lemke | |
|---|---|
 Lemke in 1988 | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born: (1965-08-13)August 13, 1965 (age 60) Utica, New York, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 17, 1988, for the Atlanta Braves | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 25, 1998, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .246 |
| Home runs | 32 |
| Runs batted in | 270 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Mark Alan Lemke (born August 13, 1965) is an American formerMajor League Baseball player and current broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Lemmer", he was a popular second baseman for theAtlanta Braves from1988 to1997. He won the1995 World Series with the Braves over theCleveland Indians.
Lemke grew up inWhitesboro, New York. He attended the now closed Sacred Heart Elementary Catholic school in West Utica. Lemke is also a graduate ofNotre Dame High School in Utica.
Lemke was drafted in the 27th round of the1983 amateur draft by theAtlanta Braves. Lemke decided against attendingPurdue University and spent the next four years in the Braves'minor league system, spending time with theGulf Coast League Braves,Anderson Braves,Sumter Braves,Durham Bulls,Greenville Braves, andRichmond Braves.He made his major league debut on September 17, 1988, when the Braves called him up from AAA when the roster expanded to 40 players. In 1988, Lemke won theHank Aaron Award as the top offensive player in the Braves' minor league system.[1] Lemke split time between the minor and major leagues until1990.
In his 11-year career, Lemke played in 62 postseason games and appeared in four World Series (1991,1992,1995,1996), all with Atlanta in their "Big Three" era.
He led the team with a .417 batting average in the 1991 World Series.[2] He won a World Series with the Braves in 1995. He also was the last out in the 1996 World Series, when theNew York Yankees won their first World Series in 18 years, popping out to Yankee third basemanCharlie Hayes with the count full. Lemke is the all-time record holder for most career plate appearances without being hit by a pitch (3,664).[3]
The sharp fielding Lemke left theBraves after the1997 season. On March 26, 1998, he signed as a free agent with theBoston Red Sox. While trying to turn a double play in a game against theChicago White Sox on May 19, 1998, Lemke was injured in a collision with baserunnerChad Kreuter. He suffered a concussion that finished his season and essentially ended his major league career.
With his big league career over, Lemke decided to chase a dream and, in 1999, signed as aknuckleball pitcher with theNew Jersey Jackals an independentNorthern League team. Lemke, who also worked as an infield coach during his stint with the Jackals, was 5-1 with a 6.68 earned run average in 1999.[4] He returned the next season with the Jackals, but was released on June 20, 2000, after being hammered in his first few appearances. In that stint though, he was wild with his knuckleball and threw an independent league record nine wild pitches in successive at bats.
Currently, Lemke hosts the Braves pregame show on theBraves Radio Network with co-hostsLeo Mazzone andBuck Belue onWCNN-AM in Atlanta. Lemke also fills in on radio duringspring training and road games during theregular season ascolor commentator, until 2008 withPete Van Wieren and presently withJim Powell
Lemke is considered the indirect namesake of theHomestar Runner cartoon. When naming the character, creatorsMike and Matt Chapman recalled a gaffe by friendJames Huggins: imitating a local commercial that mentioned Lemke, Huggins imaginatively referred to the baseball player as the "home star runner" for the Braves as he could not recall the position Lemke played.[5]
· Baseball Almanac
