Fleming's professional playing career lasted from 1935 through 1956; he did not play during the 1943 and 1944 wartime seasons. During his MLB tenure, he appeared in 434 games, and batted .277 with 199 runs batted in. His 369 hits included 69 doubles, 15 triples and 29 home runs. In 1942, as Cleveland's regular first baseman, he set personal bests in games played (156, tied for the American League lead), and most offensive categories. During his long career in minor league baseball, he was selected the Most Valuable Player of the 1948 American Association.[1] In 1950, he knocked in 138 runs in the Pacific Coast League, another Triple-A circuit, but finished 18 RBI behind the league's leader, Harry Simpson.[2]
As a member of the Indians during the 1947 season, Fleming became a teammate of Larry Doby when Doby broke the color barrier in the American League on July 5. On that day the Indians were preparing for a match against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. Fleming was one of the Indians who turned his back to Doby when player-managerLou Boudreau introduced Doby to his new Indians' teammates in the clubhouse before the game.[3]
^Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
^Tygiel, Jules (June 27, 1983). "Those Who Came After". SI.com. SportsIllustrated.CNN.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
