Lemaster seemed on the brink of stardom through most of his 11-season ML career but never quite fulfilled his early promise. Signed by the Braves for a $60,000 bonus in 1958, the hard-throwing lefty fanned 11 straight batters for Jacksonville in 1959 and led the Texas League in strikeouts the next year. After going 10-4 in half a season at Louisville and apparently overcoming his early control problems, he joined the Braves’ rotation in mid-season. He struck out 190 with a 3.04 era in 1963 and went 17-11 in 1964. The next year he developed a sore arm which bothered him intermittently through the rest of his career. Traded to Houston in 1968, he continued to show flashes of brilliance and record excellent strikeout totals until his arm problems ended his effectiveness in 1971.
