Lonnie Chisenhall

Former Indian Lonnie Chisenhall retires

Former Cleveland Indians outfielder and third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall has retired. Chisenhall spent eight years with the Tribe, collecting 578 hits, with 64 home runs, 132 doubles, 10 triples, 296 RBIs, and 261 runs scored. 

Lonnie Chisenhall initially came up to Cleveland in as one of the first of the Indians prized prospects. As a third baseman, Chisenhall initially struggled both at the plate and in the field. Consistency always seemed to be an issue for Chisenhall. Eventually a shift to the outfield was made for the final four years of his career in Cleveland and there was little more consistency at the plate.

The final five years for Lonnie Chisenhall in Cleveland were his best, four of which came after a position change to the outfield

2014: .280/.343/.427/.770 29 2B, 13 HR, 59 RBI (142 games)

2015: .246/.294/.372/.667, 19 2B, 7 HR, 44 RBI (106 games)

2016: .286/.328/.439/.767 25 2B, 8 HR, 57 RBI (126 games)

2017: .288/.360/.521/.881 17 2B, 12 HR, 53 RBI (82 games)

2018: .321/.394/.452/.846 6 2B, 1 HR, 9 RBI (29 games)

From a consistency point of view, the final four years as an outfielder were significantly better than his time as an infielder. Sometimes a position switch from infield to outfield is just what someone needs to improve at the plate and that is what happened for Lonnie Chisenhall. 

Lonnie Chisenhall’s time in Cleveland and baseball in general came to a premature end due to injuries. Calf issues seemed to be ever present for the outfielder as he only appeared in 111 games from 2017-2019, including zero for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season.

Chisenhall certainly falls into the “what could’ve been” category. If injuries did not put a halt to what seemed to be a blossoming career in his late-20’s.

Even though his playing days are over, everyone in Cleveland will always remember his 5 hit, 3 homer, and 9 RBI game against the Texas Rangers on June 9, 2014.

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