The Sea Kings never returned to the section championship, but Lemmerman saved his best season offensively for last, earning him the Dream Team Player of the Year accolade for the second straight year.
The numbers are exceptional, a .425 batting average, 10 home runs, 31 RBIs, six doubles, a .862 slugging percentage and a .524 on-base percentage. All from the No. 2 spot in the batting order and he shared the Pacific Coast League Player of the Year award.
Emme batted Lemmerman in that slot, usually suited for batters sacrificing themselves by moving runners over on bunts. The reason? Emme wanted to increase Lemmerman's total at-bats by about 15 and have pitchers pitch to him.
More opportunities for Lemmerman gave the Sea Kings a better chance to win. They won, going 19-9 overall and 8-4 in the Pacific Coast League, and made the Division III playoffs.
The thrilling 19-16 playoff win over Don Lugo of Chino last month and the championship win over Tesoro at Dodger Stadium in 2004 are two games Lemmerman said he'll never forget.
There were eight lead changes and both CdM and Don Lugo combined for 32 hits, four home runs, five doubles and one triple.
Lemmerman hit a three-run home run and finished three for four with five RBIs and two doubles. A great game and it goes well with a fantastic four-year career in which he was a three-time Newport-Mesa selection.
Lemmerman finished second in all-time hits with 125, seven behind Ty Harper, who also holds the single-season home run record (12) with Eric Wiethorn. Lemmerman is also second all-time in RBIs (88) and at-bats (125), first in runs (93), fourth in home runs (16), sixth in average (.388) and eighth in doubles (18).
