Mark Lemongello

Starting pitcher Mark Lemongello spent parts of four seasons (1976-1979) with the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays. An intense right-hander, he had good command of his sinker-slider repertoire, but a lack of control over his infamous temper contributed to his demise in professional baseball.

Mark Limongello was born on July 21, 1955, in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was the second of Michael Angelo and Kathryn (Hickey) Limongello’s three sons, between Michael Peter and Thomas. His father was a used car salesman. His older cousins, Peter and Mike, were celebrities, and “Lemongello” had become the preferred spelling of Mark’s last name by the time he entered professional baseball. Peter Lemongello, a singer, made his first appearance on the Tonight show in 1971.1 Mike, a Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer, won both the PBA Nationals and the U.S. Open the same year.2

At Raritan High School in Hazlet Township, Mark built a name for himself. As a junior, he helped the Rockets’ baseball squad to the Shore Conference Class A co-championship, including one victory in which he delivered a game-ending squeeze bunt.3 During summers, he pitched in the Ed Carleton League.4 Mark was also a tenacious football player, making the Asbury Park Evening News’s All Shore Offense first team as a senior.5 “Although chosen as an offensive guard, Mark Limongello was nearly as good as a defensive end,” noted the paper, adding that he averaged two sacks and six unassisted tackles per game and blocked five punts on special teams. “He always gave us more than 100 percent and was our team leader,” said Raritan coach Joe Oxley.6 Mark was presented with an award by the widow of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi at the Hazlet Rotary Club.7

Prior to his 1973 graduation, Lemongello also earned second team All Shore baseball recognition.8 Under coach Emil Karlik, an outfielder in the Detroit Tigers’ farm system in the 1950s, his three-year record was 16-5.9 That fall, Lemongello expected to enroll at Montclair State College on a football scholarship.10 “I really wanted to play football after I graduated,” he recalled. “Until I realized I was too small to make it in the big time.”11 Instead, the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder accepted a reported $500 from Detroit Tigers’ scout Rabbit Jacobson to try professional baseball.12 “I signed but set the goal that if I didn’t make it by age 22, I’d go back to school,” Lemongello explained.13

“We didn’t have enough good arms in the organization,” recalled Hoot Evers, Detroit’s player development director. “That and the quick death of pitching arms made us decide to sign all the fringe type guys we could find with any chance to reach the majors.”14 The pitching staff for Detroit’s rookie-level Appalachian League affiliate was already full, however, so Lemongello’s professional career did not begin until 1974.15 He debuted with the Lakeland Tigers in the Single-A Florida State League. Although he started only 11 of his 23 appearances, Lemongello threw six complete games and came within one out of no-hitting Winter Haven before allowing an infield single.16 Overall, he was 6-6 with a 2.74 ERA and a 59:23 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 105 innings.

To begin 1975, Lemongello advanced to the Montgomery (Alabama) Rebels of the Double-A Southern League. “I’ve never seen a kid as young as Mark who can move the ball around, change speeds and get the ball over the plate with speed,” remarked Montgomery manager Les Moss.17 Lemongello went 6-3 with a 2.52 ERA in 14 starts, including a one-hitter, a two-hitter and a three-hitter. In his final appearance for the Rebels, he extended his string of consecutive scoreless innings to 27 before surrendering a homer.18 On June 26, he was promoted to the Evansville (Indiana) Triplets of the Triple-A American Association. Lemongello earned his first victory on the Fourth of July, striking out 11 with the Bosse Field organist playing “J-E-L-L-O” each time an Omaha hitter fanned.19 Evers attended Lemongello’s next outing and said, “He needs a little more finesse with his slow stuff, but he can learn that.” Evansville’s manager, Fred Hatfield, observed, “He’s got a good fastball and it moves. When he keeps it downstairs, he’s tough to hit.”20

The day after his 21st birthday, Lemongello worked 8 1/3 innings to win, 2-1, in front of 22,487 fans in Denver.21 On August 14, the Triplets seized first place in the American Association East by sweeping a doubleheader with Lemongello tossing a three-hit shutout in the opener and recent callup Mark Fidrych winning the nightcap.22 They’d become close friends that spring after sharing an apartment.23 “Did I teach him any tricks? No. If anything he taught me a few things about pitching,” Lemongello said.24

Evansville’s record was only 26-33 a few days before Lemongello arrived, but his 7-4 (3.87) mark in 15 outings made him the club’s winningest starter during a season-ending 51-26 run.25 When the Triplets triumphed in the best-of-seven American Association playoffs, Lemongello won Game Three in Denver.26 In the Junior World Series, he shut out the Tidewater Tides on three hits in the opener to help Evansville prevail.27

At the winter meetings, the Tigers -after posting the majors’ worst record in 1975- traded him to the National League’s worst team, the Houston Astros, in a seven-player deal. Detroit received three established players –catcher Milt May and lefty pitchers Dave Roberts and Jim Crawford– in exchange for Lemongello, rookie reliever Gene Pentz, outfielder Leon Roberts and backup catcher Terry Humphrey. “Lemongello is a youngster who should be of help to us in the near future,” remarked Houston GM Tal Smith.28

The name “Lemongello” was more recognizable than ever in early 1976 thanks to his cousin Peter’s television commercial blitz to promote his Love ’76 double album. That year, Peter was profiled by TIME magazine, mimicked by comedian Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live and -by some accounts- sold more than a million records. As for Mark’s own career, spring training started late because team owners locked players out due to a labor dispute. He was weakened by the flu when he finally arrived, then left camp to be with his ailing brother in New Jersey.29 Thomas Limongello, only 15, died of cancer shortly thereafter.30 Mark kept a silver dollar that Thomas had given him under the manufacturer’s label on his baseball mitt for the rest of his career.31 While Mark had been prone to emotional outbursts since childhood, his parents believed that they became more frequent after the loss of his younger sibling.32

Mark started the 1976 season with the Memphis Chicks in the Triple-A International League. “When [Houston] got me from Detroit, they told me I’d be given a great chance to make the club,” he said. “I didn’t and it kind of blew my mind. I told them I wanted [to be] traded.”33 By mid-July, his ERA was 5.22 in 100 innings.34 Lemongello was earning a reputation as “a tough competitor and a good man to avoid after tough losses.” After one defeat in Toledo, he did $1,500 worth of damage to his hotel room. Later, he smashed his hair dryer into a clubhouse garbage can in Rochester.35 Rhode Island’s Ernie Whitt witnessed one blowup. “[Lemongello] got knocked out of the game and came in the dugout and started beating the wall. You could see blood flying everywhere.”36 Meanwhile, Fidrych was enjoying a sensational rookie year for the Tigers. “My old roomie was beating everybody in the American League, and I wasn’t even in the majors, and I thought I should be,” Lemongello said. “I was really down. Finally, at midseason, I asked permission to go home for two weeks to get my head back on straight.”37 Lemongello finished 10-6 with a 4.53 ERA, but earned a September call-up to the Astros by posting a 3.46 ERA over his last 65 innings.38

On September 14, 1976, in Atlanta, Lemongello won his major league debut by holding the Braves to three runs (two earned) over seven plus innings in a 4-3 victory. Five days later at the Astrodome, he outdueled 1976 NL Cy Young Award winner Randy Jones of the Padres, 3-2, with a complete-game six-hitter. After losing in San Francisco, Lemongello defeated the Giants in Houston in his final outing to wind up 3-1 with a 2.79 ERA. “He keeps the ball down, throws strikes, and he has such an easy delivery that he surprises hitters when the ball comes at them so hard,” observed Astros’ skipper Bill Virdon.39 At a joint appearance with Peter at Bonnie Buick in Asbury Park, New Jersey after the season, Mark was awarded a lemon-colored Buick Electra.40

Lemongello acknowledged his potential to endorse lemon Jell-o thanks to his unique surname “I eat it sometimes, but not too often. Of course, if they want me to do commercials for them, I’ll eat it all day.” Despite Fidrych’s Rookie of the Year success in ‘76, Lemongello made it clear that he wouldn’t adopt any of his friend’s fan-pleasing antics. “I tried talking to the ball a couple of times, but it never seemed to work for me,” he explained.41

In 1977, Lemongello lost 11 of his first 12 decisions, two more losses than any other pitcher in the majors through June 25. His teammates provided only 31 runs of support in his first 15 starts. “It’s not as bad as last year because I had a lot of personal problems, but as far as my career is concerned, this is the toughest because I know I’ve pitched well enough to win more,” he said.42 After a brief spell in the bullpen, he hurled 10 innings against the division-leading Dodgers on July 13 and received a no decision. Lemongello wore the same jeans, white shirt and blue cap to the ballpark for his next two starts and finally won twice. “If you think I’m going to change clothes now, you’re crazy,” he said.43

After the All-Star break, Lemongello went 7-3 with a 2.74 ERA to finish 9-14 (3.48) overall. “The secret is getting the breaking ball over when you have to,” he explained.44 “It wasn’t easy being confident when my record was 1-11 but the confidence is there now. I learned that I can’t make even one mistake at a crucial point.” Astros’ catcher Joe Ferguson observed, “He’s got to keep his pitches down low. About the only times he ever gets hurt are when he gets them up too high.”45 Lemongello’s victories included a career-high, 11-inning effort against the Pirates on August 1, and a six-hitter on September 5 versus the Reds. The only run that he allowed in the latter was a homer by opposing pitcher Tom Seaver, but Lemongello legged out a triple himself in defeating the future Hall of Famer. “This was the topping of the cake,” he said. “Last week in my hometown, I beat New York on television and that was nice. But if I live to be 50, I can say I beat Seaver and got a hit off him to boot.”46

Meanwhile the Astros –after dropping 13 games below .500 in mid-June– rallied to finish at 81-81 as four-time All-Star César Cedeño rebounded from a sub-par first half. “It seems in Houston if he hits, the Astros win,” Lemongello said.47 Pitching was also a key as the pennant-winning Dodgers were the only NL team with a better ERA than Houston’s 3.54 mark. In early 1978, the Astros rewarded Cedeño with a lucrative 10-year deal while the contracts of several of the team’s young hurlers were renewed at below-market value. Four of them, including Lemongello –who was to make $22,500 plus $5,000 in incentives– protested, upsetting GM Tal Smith. “If the situation doesn’t change, the first chance I get, I’m gone,” Lemongello complained. “I can’t even eat in the same restaurant with César Cedeño.”48

When the season began, Lemongello was clobbered in his first start in Cincinnati, but he won a rematch in Houston with a three-hitter, no-hitting the Reds through seven innings until Johnny Bench took him deep leading off the eighth. After twirling his only major league shutout to beat San Francisco’s Vida Blue, 1-0, on May 31, Lemongello’s record was 5-5 for the sub-.500 Astros. “The one full year of experience really helps,” he reflected. “I’ve given up less hits than last season and have a better idea of what I’m trying to do.”49

With the score tied, 1-1, in the bottom of the ninth at Wrigley Field of his next start, Lemongello issued his career-worst sixth walk to load the bases on a close pitch. He was ejected after confronting plate umpire Dutch Rennert. Several teammates guided Lemongello off the field, but he threw his cap, pounded the dugout stairs with a bat, and flipped Rennert the bird with both hands before stalking into the clubhouse.50 Lemongello then lost the game when reliever Joe Sambito allowed a game-ending single. The Astros had recently sent catcher Ed Herrmann home after the veteran characterized the team as “six guys who want to play and three who don’t.”51 Lemongello recalled, “We’d lose a game and they’d come in laughing. They didn’t care. I did. It burned me up. It seemed like nobody wanted to win.”52 That fall, The Sporting News reported, “One Houston insider says [Lemongello] was one of only three Astros to give total effort on every pitch the last two seasons,”53 Some thought that he took losing too hard. “After a poor performance, Mark would bite his shoulder until it bled; or he would dive onto the post-game food table and JUST LAY THERE in hot dogs, burritos, mustard, ketchup,” described one report.54

By the All-Star Game, the Astros were 10 games under .500 with Cedeño out for three months following knee surgery. Without the Gold Glove center fielder, Lemongello observed, “Balls drop out there now that he’d have in his hip pocket.”55 For the second straight season, Lemongello started more games and hurled more innings than any Astros pitcher except J.R. Richard. After completing the first half 7-8 with a 3.75 ERA, however, he went 2-6 (4.20) after the break to wind up 9-14 again. Seven of his defeats were by 2-1, 3-1 or 3-2 scores. “We had a lot of injuries,” he said. “We didn’t really have an experienced catcher after Joe Ferguson was traded. This really hurt with young pitchers like Floyd Bannister, Joe Sambito and me.”56 GM Tal Smith agreed. On November 27, the Astros traded Lemongello, Joe Cannon and Pedro Hernández to the Toronto Blue Jays for switch-hitting catcher Alan Ashby. “The way I look at it, we got another starting pitcher who will likely be our number-three man behind Jim Clancy and Tommy Underwood,” said Blue Jays GM Pat Gillick.57

When Lemongello learned about the deal, he was in Arizona, buying a new home and exploring opportunities in the Coca Cola industry.58 “I will not report to Toronto,” he told the Ottawa Journal. “I don’t want to leave the United States and I don’t want to pay taxes in two countries. This is like 10 steps backwards for me.”59 Later, Lemongello explained, “I figured the best thing I could do was get away and get my head together. So, me and my brother headed for the Grand Canyon. Then I drove cross-country back to New Jersey. I had a lot to think about.”60 The Blue Jays couldn’t contact him for eight weeks.61 When they did, he reportedly told club president Peter Bavasi that he’d rather drive a Coke truck than pitch for the third-year expansion club in Canada.62

Shortly before spring training, however, Lemongello said, “I guess they’re going with youth in Toronto. I’m a youth. I’m looking forward to it now, a new league, a new challenge.”63 He signed a two-year contract worth about $65,000.64 Toward the end of the exhibition season, he gave the Blue Jays a glimpse of his competitive nature. When Baltimore’s Eddie Murray threw his bat in frustration after grounding back the mound, Lemongello dodged the lumber and forced him to run all the way to first base before tagging him. The slugger then hurled his helmet toward Lemongello, who responded by drilling Murray in the leg with the ball. Both benches cleared, and Toronto first baseman John Mayberry said, “I’ve never seen anything like that in a spring training game before.”65

Occasionally, Lemongello slapped himself on the chin –hard– after tough innings. “Sometimes, I just had to snap myself out of it, you know?” he explained.66 Bavasi noted, “His reputation preceded him… We were getting a wild stallion, a bucking bronco… In baseball, you look at the player and you balance the risks and the possible wins. He wasn’t the only ballplayer who got mad when things didn’t go well.”67

Lemongello began the 1979 season by going 1-5 with a 5.95 ERA in his first eight starts. “Any time he had a bad outing, he`d blame it on Canada,” recalled teammate Bob Bailor.68 It didn’t help that Major League Baseball’s umpires were on strike. “My pitching style is to be around the corners all of the time and the amateurs they had working at the start of the year weren’t giving any of the pitchers the corners,” Lemongello said.69 “No way I can pitch from behind [in the count]. That’s what killed me.”70

The regular umpires returned on May 19. On May 22, Lemongello surrendered his first major league grand slam –a third-inning blast by slugger Andre Thornton after Toronto manager Roy Hartsfield had ordered him to load the bases by walking singles’ hitter Rick Manning intentionally. When Hartsfield approached the mound to change pitchers in the sixth, Lemongello flipped the ball instead of handing it to him, drawing a $100 fine when it landed at his skipper’s feet. “It was a rule of his that he wanted the ball handed to him,” Lemongello acknowledged. “But he never forgave me for it.”71 After the game, Lemongello recalled, “I was so depressed. I went back to my place and exploded. I said, ‘I’ve got to get out of here.’… I had a bad attitude.” His closest friend on the team, infielder Dave McKay, had recently been demoted to Triple-A. “I had McKay to talk to, and then he was gone. I was alone. I became a head case.”72 Lemongello also became a relief pitcher, making all but one of his next nine appearances out of the bullpen. In his only start, he allowed another grand slam in Seattle.

Lemongello’s outing on July 21 –his 24th birthday– was his first appearance in 20 days. “I’ve gone from a regular starter on one of the best pitching staffs in baseball to not pitching on one of the worst,” he said. “I just want to be moved, preferably back to the National League.”73 Toronto tried to accommodate him shortly after the June 15 trading deadline, only to pull him back when the White Sox put in a waiver claim.74

On July 23, Lemongello entered a tie game in the eighth inning, but only after, “[Hartsfield] made me warm up five times.”75 After the Twins’ Bombo Rivera tripled with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Toronto announcer Tom Cheek recalled what happened next, “[Lemongello] was supposed to walk a batter intentionally in Minnesota and had quite an argument with Roy Hartsfield about it. He stood on the mound shaking his head while Roy nodded his. Then the first pitch sailed about eight feet over [catcher] Rick Cerone‘s head and about 15 feet to his right. I didn’t see it, but a coach told me Roy had to be restrained from running onto the field.”76 Rivera didn’t score on that play but, after two intentional free passes loaded the bases, Toronto lost when Lemongello uncorked a wild pitch. His record was 1-9 with a 6.29 ERA and he’d never pitch in the majors again.

After returning home, the Blue Jays told Lemongello he was being demoted to the minors. Upon hearing the news, he hurled an ashtray so hard that it stuck inside a conference room wall at Exhibition Stadium. “When Gillick came out and told me about it, he was shaking,” reported Bavasi. “Lemongello had come out of the room screaming, swearing that he was going to take out vengeance, he had ‘friends in New Jersey’ and so on.” Bavasi reported the threats, prompting representatives from Major League Baseball to speak with Lemongello before the pitcher reported to the Syracuse Chiefs in the Triple-A International League.77

In four starts with Syracuse, Lemongello was 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA. In the IL semifinals, he shut out the Richmond Braves twice, a two-hitter in the opener and three-hitter to clinch the series.78 “I didn’t worry about anything except pitching,” he said. Although Lemongello wasn’t called up by the Blue Jays in September, he said, “Pat Gillick called me from New York on the last day of the season and said, “We fired Hartsfield’. He told me none of the coaches would be back either. That’s when I started to feel that things could be turned around.”79

That fall, Lemongello married Diane (Dickerson), his high school girlfriend.80 In November, he began a thrice-a-week weight training program with a Nautilus machine. “I’ve never worked harder,” he said shortly before spring training. “I feel stronger already.” Gillick told reporters, “He is going to camp with us, and he sure figures in things.”81 Two days before Opening Day, however, Toronto sold Lemongello to the Chicago Cubs’ Triple-A American Association affiliate. “When we made the trade for Lemongello, we had high hopes,” Gillick explained. “But we obviously didn’t think he could help us now.”82 A week later, the Blue Jays received infielder Steve Davis to complete the deal.83

In the first week of May 1980, the Chicago Tribune identified Lemongello as the best candidate to join the Cub’s rotation when the club added another pitcher later that month.84 It wasn’t to be. With the Wichita Aeros, he was pounded for 158 hits in 128 innings, struck out only 42 and finished 6-10 with a 5.13 ERA. His season highlight came on August 17 in Iowa when earned a victory by hurling the last 7 1/3 innings of a combined no-hitter. “I never expected to get a no-hitter,” he said, “So I’ll take one any way I can get it.”85

Lemongello was out of baseball in 1981, working as a real estate agent in Mesa, Arizona.86 Through a corporation that Peter Lemongello had started to build luxury houses near St. Petersburg, Florida, Mark and former Wichita teammate Manny Seoane invested in a development deal. Peter’s brother Mike, the retired bowler, was also involved. Mark convinced Astros’ pitcher Joe Sambito to build a home through the company.87 That fall, in Toronto, Bavasi received a letter from Lemongello asking for another chance and expressing his willingness to begin in the minors. “He wrote very sincerely, admitting that he had not dedicated himself to baseball at any time during his woebegone career,” Bavasi recalled. Although Bavasi was preparing to resign from his position with the Blue Jays, he shared the letter with Gillick and explained, “We were prepared to let bygones be bygones, but there were some pretty serious bygones.”88

By January 15, 1982, however, Lemongello was furious about an unpaid finder’s fee that he believed his cousins owed him for recruiting Sambito’s business.89 Along with Seoane, he abducted Peter and Mike at gunpoint from his former teammate’s construction site, took them to a bank and forced them to withdraw more than $50,000.90 “I had no idea they had any differences,” Sambito said later.91 Seoane turned himself in to police five days after the incident, but Lemongello didn’t surrender until January 22.92 After he was released on bond, he called Gillick about returning to the Blue Jays. “We said we would be interested if he could solve his police problem,” the GM reported, but Lemongello never made it back to the mound.93 He was convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping charges and served seven years on probation.94 Peter, one of the victims in the episode, was later arrested for arson, insurance fraud, bribery and vandalism, and wound up being incarcerated for more than a year.95

Mark’s first marriage ended in divorce, as did a second, to Deborah (Hayes) in 1983. He fathered two sons, Michael and Cody, with his third wife, Christine (Heil) before their union ended as well. “He’s had problems,” one of Lemongello’s friends told the Toronto Star in 1999. “But he’s battling his demons and doing a fine job raising his boys.”96 After a long post-baseball career as an Arizona-based land developer, Lemongello is retired and living in Safety Harbor, Florida as of 2021.

Last revised: August 11, 2021

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Paul Proia and David Bilmes and fact-checked by Evan Katz.

Sources

In addition to sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted www.ancestry.com, www.baseball-reference.com and www.retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 Tony Kornheiser, “He Did it His Way,” New York Times, June 20, 1976, https://www.nytimes.com/1976/06/20/archives/new-jersey-opinion-he-did-it-his-way-reaching-for-a-star-from.html (last accessed May 8, 2021).

2 “Mike Limongello,” https://njsports.com/marklimongelloms.html (last accessed May 8, 2021).

3 “Raritan Tops Mariners,” Asbury Park (New Jersey) Evening Press, May 26, 1972: 48.

4 “Bears Continue to Sway Over Rangers,” Keyport Weekly, July 8, 1971: 10.

5 “Casagrande Kicks Decide for Matawan,” Asbury Park Evening Press, November 24, 1972: 79.

6 “Merli, Wolf Named Player, Coach of Year,” Asbury Park Evening Press, December 3, 1972: E2.

7 “Select Limongello, Robertelli Finest Rocket, Titan Lineman,” Daily Register (Red Bank, NJ), January 15, 1973: 16.

8 “All-Shore Baseball Team,” Asbury Park Evening Press, June 10, 1973: 82.

9 Fred Kerber, “Raritan Ace Still Pitching for a Dream to Come True,” Daily News (New York, New York), July 9, 1975: 82.

10 Kerber, “Raritan Ace Still Pitching for a Dream to Come True,”

11 Bill Fluty, “Lemongello Aims for Detroit Future,” Asbury Park Press, July 20, 1975: 68.

12 Mark Lemongello, Publicity Questionnaire for William J. Weiss, December 18, 1980.

13 Kerber, “Raritan Ace Still Pitching for a Dream to Come True.”

14 “Trips Reaped Harvest,” The Sporting News, October 4, 1975: 34.

15 Fluty, “Lemongello Aims for Detroit Future.”

16 Fluty, “Lemongello Aims for Detroit Future.”

17 “Limongello is Promoted,” Asbury Park Press, June 28, 1975: 15.

18 “Southern League,” The Sporting News, July 12, 1975: 38.

19 “Much Jello for K’s,” The Sporting News, July 26, 1975: 34.

20 Fluty, “Lemongello Aims for Detroit Future.”

21 “Denver Hosts 22,487,” The Sporting News, August 9, 1975: 36.

22 “American Assn.,” The Sporting News, August 30, 1975: 34.

23 Harry Shattuck, “Lemongello Proves Popular Dish with Astros,” The Sporting News, October 9, 1976: 18.

24 Shattuck, “Lemongello Proves Popular Dish with Astros.”: 18.

25 “Triplets on Tear,” The Sporting News, September 13, 1975: 35.

26 “American Assn.,” The Sporting News, September 20, 1975: 32.

27 “Tidewater Loses, 4-0,” New York Times, September 12, 1975: 29.

28 “Tigers Include Lemongello in Houston Deal,” Asbury Park Press, December 7, 1975: 72.

29 Harry Shattuck, “Pentz, Roberts Put Sheen on Astros Rep as Traders,” The Sporting News, June 19, 1976: 29.

30 “Thomas Limongello,” Daily Register (Red Bank, New Jersey), April 6, 1976: 4.

31 Bill Edwards, “Lemongello Remembers Hard Times,” Asbury Park Press, April 3, 1977: F33.

32 Earl McRae, “Whatever Happened to Superflake?” Ottawa Citizen, May 12, 1979, Canadian Insert: 18-20.

33 Bob Smizik, “Bucs Find Lemongello Hard to Swallow,” Pittsburgh Press, May 14,1977: 6.

34 “Batting and Pitching Records,” The Sporting News, August 7, 1976: 35.

35 “Int. Items,” The Sporting News, September 4, 1976: 30.

36 Don Wade, “Jays and Reds Aren’t Really Bluffing,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee), April 1, 2005: D11. Whitt played for the Boston affiliate known as the Pawtucket Red Sox from 1973-2019 –except 1976– when they played as the Rhode Island Red Sox,

37 Shattuck, “Lemongello Proves Popular Dish with Astros.”

38 “Lemongello Complete,” The Sporting News, August 28, 1976: 37.

39 Shattuck, “Lemongello Proves Popular Dish with Astros.”: 18.

40 “Bonnie Buick,” Asbury Park Press, October 28, 1976: 58.

41 Smizik, “Bucs Find Lemongello Hard to Swallow.”

42 Harry Shattuck, “Lemongello Put to the Test by Astros’ Anemic Hitting,” The Sporting News, July 9, 1977: 31.

43 Harry Shattuck, “Cruz’ Control of Bat Increases Astro Power,” The Sporting News, August 13, 1977: 14.

44 Russ Franke, “Lemongello Leaves Bucs with Sour Taste,” Pittsburgh Press, August 2, 1977: 15.

45 Harry Shattuck, “Confidence Put Young Astro Hurlers on Course,” The Sporting News, October 1, 1977: 13.

46 “Lemongello Topping on Reds’ Cake,” Washington Court House (Ohio) Record-Herald, September 6, 1977: 14.

47 Neil MacCarl, “Lemongello Starts to Savor Jays Role,” The Sporting News, February 17, 1979: 43.

48 Harry Shattuck, “Astros’ Four Young Rebels Get Blast from G.M. Smith,” The Sporting News, March 25, 1978: 45.

49 Tony Graham, “Roles Differ for Walling, Lemongello,” Asbury Park Press, July 28, 1978: 37.

50 “Rookies Baldwin and Sexton Please Astros,” The Sporting News, June 24, 1978: 20.

51 Harry Shattuck, “Herrmann Departs After Rap at Astros,” The Sporting News, June 24, 1978: 6.

52 Allen Abel, “Contrite Righthander Back from Wilderness,” Globe and Mail (Toronto), January 24, 1979: P13.

53 Neil Campbell, “Ducking Jays a New Species?” Globe and Mail, December 2, 1978: S6.

54 Bob Padecky, “Tarango Joins List of All-Time Short Tempers,” Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, California), July 5, 1995: C1.

55 Graham, “Roles Differ for Walling, Lemongello.”

56 Neil MacCarl, “Lemongello Starts to Savor Jays Role,” The Sporting News, February 17, 1979: 43.

57 Neil MacCarl, “Blue Jays Moving on ‘Right Track’,” The Sporting News, December 16, 1978: 51.

58 Abel, “Contrite Righthander Back from Wilderness.”

59 “Lemongello Plays Hard to Get,” Ottawa Journal, December 13, 1978: 23.

60 Abel, “Contrite Righthander Back from Wilderness.”

61 MacCarl, “Lemongello Starts to Savor Jays Role.”

62 Allen Abel, “Second Chance Asked from Jays,” Globe and Mail, January 25, 1982: S2.

63 Abel, “Contrite Righthander Back from Wilderness.”

64 Paul Patton, “Lemongello Says Flipping Baseball Was His Downfall,” Globe and Mail, August 3, 1979: P31.

65 Paul Patton, “Brawl Highlights Blue Jays’ Loss,” Globe and Mail, March 29, 1979: P45.

66 Allen Abel, “’Messed Up’ Mark Finds Peace of Mind,” Globe and Mail, March 12, 1980: P39.

67 Abel, “Second Chance Asked from Jays.”

68 Gordon Edes, “Original Jay Remembers True Blue Jays,” Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), March 30, 1992: 6C.

69 Patton, “Lemongello Says Flipping Baseball Was His Downfall.”

70 Neil MacCarl, “Jays to See a ‘New’ Lemongello,” The Sporting News, February 2, 1980: 41.

71 Patton, “Lemongello Says Flipping Baseball Was His Downfall.”

72 Abel, “’Messed Up’ Mark Finds Peace of Mind.”

73 Neil MacCarl, “Blue Jays Notes,” The Sporting News, August 11, 1979: 12.

74 Paul Patton, “Lemongello Would Quit Jays, Return to National League,” Globe and Mail, July 24, 1979: P32.

75 Abel, “’Messed Up’ Mark Finds Peace of Mind.”

76 “The Iron Man of Radio,” Toronto Star, March 9, 2004: E3.

77 Abel, “Second Chance Asked from Jays.”

78 “International League Playoffs,” The Sporting News, September 22, 1979: 37.

79 Abel, “’Messed Up’ Mark Finds Peace of Mind.”

80 “Lemongello-Dickerson,” Asbury Park Press, November 8, 1979: 71.

81 MacCarl, “Jays to See a ‘New’ Lemongello.”

82 James Golla, “Jays Sell Lemongello to Cubs Farm Club,” Globe and Mail, April 8, 1980: P43.

83 “Syracuse Waiting on Waivers on Infielder from Cubs’ System,” Globe and Mail, April 15, 1980: P55.

84 Richard Dozer, “Wichita Pitcher May Come Up,” Chicago Tribune, May 6, 1980: D2.

85 Bob Dyer, “Wichita Pair No-Hits Iowa,” The Sporting News. September 6, 1980: 58.

86 Lemongello, Publicity Questionnaire for William J. Weiss.

87 Leslie Gray Streeter, “Peter Lemongello,” Palm Beach (Florida) Post, November 6, 2009: D1.

88 Abel, “Second Chance Asked from Jays.”

89 Donald P. Myers, “The Second Time Around,” Newsday (New York, New York), February 28, 1990.

90 “Ex-Pitchers Charged with Kidnapping,” Philadelphia Daily News, January 20, 1982: 54.

91 Scott Minerbrook, “Cops Say Lemongellos Star in Real-Life Family Feud,” Newsday (New York, New York), January 20, 1982: 9.

92 “Lemongello Surrenders on Kidnapping Charges,” New York Times, January 23, 1982: 18.

93 Paul Patton, “Lemongello May Turn Up at Jays Camp, Gillick Says,” Globe and Mail, February 5, 1982: S1.

94 Paul Patton, “Where are They Now? Mark Lemongello,” Globe and Mail, December 12, 1983: S8.

95 Laura Griffin, “Facing the Music,” St Petersburg (Florida) Times, May 24, 1992: 1B.

96 “Flake Off the Old Blockhead,” Toronto Star, November 16, 1999: 1.