Gene Lamont: Difference between revisions

Gene Lamont
Gene Lamont
	Lamont in June 2013
	Catcher / Manager
	Born: December 25, 1946 (age 78); Rockford, Illinois
	Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
	September 2, 1970, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
	May 24, 1975, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
Batting average	.233
Home runs	4
Games managed	1,115
Win–loss record	553–562
Winning percentage	.496
	Stats at Baseball Reference
	Managerial record at Baseball Reference
Teams
	As player Detroit Tigers (1970–1972, 1974–1975); As coach Pittsburgh Pirates (1986–1991, 1996); Boston Red Sox (2001); Houston Astros (2002–2004); Detroit Tigers (2006–2017); As manager Chicago White Sox (1992–1995); Pittsburgh Pirates (1997–2000);
Career highlights and awards
	1993 American League Manager of the Year Award;

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Gene William Lamont (born December 25, 1946) is an American special assistant to the general manager of the Kansas City Royals. He was a former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball who managed the Chicago White Sox (1992–1995) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1997–2000). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Lamont had previously served as a coach for the Detroit Tigers from 2006 to 2017.

Biography

Lamont was a Chicago Cubs fan all his life, growing up in Kirkland, Illinois and attending Western Illinois University. He was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 1st round, as the 13th pick, of the 1965 amateur draft, and came up with them as a September call-up in 1970, when he had 13 hits in 44 at bats. The following year, he had 1 hit in 15 at-bats. In his biggest year, he had 92 at-bats, playing as a backup to Tigers catcher Jerry Moses. After 1975, his major league career, spent entirely with the Tigers, was over. He bounced around in the minors, on triple-A Evansville (with such players as Tom Brookens and Jerry Manuel) before stopping. He ended with a lifetime batting average of .233, with 4 home runs and 14 RBI in 87 games played. He had 37 hits in 159 at-bats, and stole 1 base.

The highlight of his time as a player had been a home run in his first at bat of his career off the Boston Red Sox' Cal Koonce. However, his career would go on as a manager, beginning in 1977 with the Kansas City Royals organization managing their single-A Fort Myers team for two years. After that, he guided the double-A Jacksonville Suns to a championship in 1982 and again in 1983, being named Southern League Manager of the Year in 1982.

Finally, after two seasons with the triple-A Omaha Royals in the minors, he worked his way up to the majors, serving as a third base coach for Jim Leyland's 1986 Pirates team. By the early '90s, with the Pirates emergence as a contender, Lamont was being considered by some teams for a managing job.

In 1992, Jeff Torborg left the White Sox to take the managing job with the New York Mets, and Lamont was named manager of Chicago. That year, the Sox did well, finishing 86–76, 3rd in the American League's Western Division. However, the following year the White Sox finished 94-68 under Lamont and were first in the AL West for the first time since they won 99 games in 1983 under Tony La Russa. His team consisted of such stars as Frank Thomas, Robin Ventura, Ellis Burks, Jack McDowell, Alex Fernandez, Jason Bere, and Wilson Álvarez. Lamont took home the AL Manager of the Year award that year, and the team lost in the American League Championship Series to the soon-to-be champs, the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 1994, a baseball strike took place. When it began, the White Sox had the best record in the division; but the team did not fare as well the following year, starting out with an 11–20 record before Lamont was fired and replaced by Terry Bevington.

Lamont returned to the Pirates and began coaching again, before Leyland left in 1997, giving Lamont the job of manager once again. He was the third Pirates manager to have been a catcher during his playing career, along with Billy Meyer and Jim Leyland. Amazingly, in his first year Lamont finished second with a young, inexperienced team that was widely predicted to finish last. His team often upset many NL teams vying for playoff spots. He came in 2nd place in the manager of the year voting behind Dusty Baker of the San Francisco Giants.

There was no continued success for the Pirates though, finishing in last place in the Central in 1998. After a terrible 2000 season, Lamont was fired and replaced by Lloyd McClendon.

He has a career record of 553–562, barely below .500 at .496, despite the many bad Pirates seasons. His all-time record in Chicago was 258–210, and he was 295–352 in Pittsburgh. Lamont had two first-place finishes, including the strike shortened year.

Lamont returned to coaching, with the Red Sox, the Astros, and (from 2006–2017) with the Tigers.[1]

On November 12, 2011, Lamont was interviewed for the manager position for the Boston Red Sox after the Red Sox declined to exercise Terry Francona's 2012 option for manager. Lamont joined Torey Lovullo, Sandy Alomar, Jr., Pete Mackanin, and Dale Sveum vying for the managerial position.^[1]^[2] As of November 27, only Lamont and Bobby Valentine were still in contention for the position. On November 29, it was reported that Valentine would be the new Red Sox manager.

In 2013, Lamont was moved to the dugout as the bench coach and was replaced by Tom Brookens, who was previously the 1st base coach.

On January 17, 2018, Lamont was hired by the Kansas City Royals to be the special assistant to the general manager.^[3]

Managerial record

As of September 18, 2015

Team	From	To	Regular season record			Post–season record			Ref.
Team	From	To	W	L	Win %	W	L	Win %	Ref.
Chicago White Sox	1992	1995	258	210	.551	2	4	.333	^[4]
Pittsburgh Pirates	1997	2000	295	352	.456	—			^[4]
Total			553	562	.496	2	4	.333	—

References

^ Shaughnessy, Dan (October 1, 2011). "Ignore the spin — Red Sox fired Francona". The Boston Globe. p. A1. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
^ McDonald, Joe (12 November 2011). "Red Sox interview Gene Lamont". ESPN Boston. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
^ "Royals hire Big Slick favorite Gene Lamont as special assistant to GM". FOX Sports. 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
^ ^a ^b "Gene Lamont". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved September 18, 2015.

External links

Career statistics from Baseball Reference
Gene Lamont managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by first manager	Fort Myers Royals Manager 1978–1979	Succeeded by Brian Murphy
Preceded by Joe Jones	Jacksonville Suns Manager 1980–1983	Succeeded by Rick Renick
Preceded by Joe Sparks	Omaha Royals Manager 1984–1985	Succeeded by John Boles
Preceded by	Pittsburgh Pirates Third Base Coach 1986–1991	Succeeded by Rich Donnelly
Preceded by Rich Donnelly	Pittsburgh Pirates Third Base Coach 1996	Succeeded by Jack Lind
Preceded by Wendell Kim	Boston Red Sox Third Base Coach 2001	Succeeded by Mike Cubbage
Preceded by Matt Galante	Houston Astros Third Base Coach 2002–2004	Succeeded by Doug Mansolino
Preceded by Marc Bombard	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Manager 2005	Succeeded by John Russell

[1] Shaughnessy, Dan (October 1, 2011). "Ignore the spin — Red Sox fired Francona". The Boston Globe. p. A1. Retrieved November 12, 2011.

[2] McDonald, Joe (12 November 2011). "Red Sox interview Gene Lamont". ESPN Boston. Retrieved 13 November 2011.

[3] "Royals hire Big Slick favorite Gene Lamont as special assistant to GM". FOX Sports. 2018-01-16. Retrieved 2018-01-17.

[managerial_record-4] "Gene Lamont". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved September 18, 2015.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 ==Biography==
-Lamont was a [[Chicago Cubs]] fan all his life, growing up in [[Kirkland, Illinois]] and attending [[Western Illinois University]]. He was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 1st round, as the 13th pick, of the [[1965 Major League Baseball draft|1965 amateur draft]], and came up with them as a September call-up in [[1970 in baseball|1970]], when he had 13 [[hit (baseball)|hits]] in 44 [[at bat]]s. The following year, he had only 15 at-bats and only 1 hit. In his biggest year, he had 92 at-bats, playing as a backup to Tigers catcher Jerry Moses. After [[1975 in baseball|1975]], his major league career, spent entirely with the Tigers, was over. He bounced around in the minors, on triple-A [[Evansville]] (with such players as [[Tom Brookens]] and [[Jerry Manuel]]) before stopping. He ended with a lifetime [[batting average]] of .233, with 4 [[home run]]s and 14 [[Run batted in|RBI]] in 87 [[games played]]. He had 37 hits in 159 at-bats, and [[stolen base|stole 1 base]].
+Lamont was a [[Chicago Cubs]] fan all his life, growing up in [[Kirkland, Illinois]] and attending [[Western Illinois University]]. He was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 1st round, as the 13th pick, of the [[1965 Major League Baseball draft|1965 amateur draft]], and came up with them as a September call-up in [[1970 in baseball|1970]], when he had 13 [[hit (baseball)|hits]] in 44 [[at bat]]s. The following year, he had 1 hit in 15 at-bats. In his biggest year, he had 92 at-bats, playing as a backup to Tigers catcher Jerry Moses. After [[1975 in baseball|1975]], his major league career, spent entirely with the Tigers, was over. He bounced around in the minors, on triple-A [[Evansville]] (with such players as [[Tom Brookens]] and [[Jerry Manuel]]) before stopping. He ended with a lifetime [[batting average]] of .233, with 4 [[home run]]s and 14 [[Run batted in|RBI]] in 87 [[games played]]. He had 37 hits in 159 at-bats, and [[stolen base|stole 1 base]].
-The highlight of his time as a player had been a home run in his first at bat of his career off the [[Boston Red Sox]]' [[Cal Koonce]]. However, his career would go on as a manager, beginning soon in [[1977 in baseball|1977]] with the [[Kansas City Royals]] as a manager, managing their single-A [[Fort Myers]] team for two years. After that, he guided double-A [[Jacksonville Suns]] to a championship in [[1982 in baseball|1982]] and again in [[1983 in baseball|1983]], being named [[Southern League (baseball)|Southern League]] Manager of the Year in the former.
+The highlight of his time as a player had been a home run in his first at bat of his career off the [[Boston Red Sox]]' [[Cal Koonce]]. However, his career would go on as a manager, beginning in [[1977 in baseball|1977]] with the [[Kansas City Royals]] organization managing their single-A [[Fort Myers]] team for two years. After that, he guided the double-A [[Jacksonville Suns]] to a championship in [[1982 in baseball|1982]] and again in [[1983 in baseball|1983]], being named [[Southern League (baseball)|Southern League]] Manager of the Year in 1982.
-Finally after two seasons with the triple-A [[Omaha Royals]] in the [[minor league baseball|minors]], he had worked his way up to the majors, serving as a third base coach for [[Jim Leyland]]'s [[1986 in baseball|1986]] Pirates team. By the early '90s, with the Pirates emergence as a contender, Lamont was being considered by some teams for a managing job.
+Finally, after two seasons with the triple-A [[Omaha Royals]] in the [[minor league baseball|minors]], he worked his way up to the majors, serving as a third base coach for [[Jim Leyland]]'s [[1986 in baseball|1986]] Pirates team. By the early '90s, with the Pirates emergence as a contender, Lamont was being considered by some teams for a managing job.
 In [[1992 in baseball|1992]], [[Jeff Torborg]] left the White Sox to take the managing job with the [[New York Mets]], and Lamont was named manager of Chicago. That year, the Sox did well, finishing 86&ndash;76, 3rd in the [[American League]]'s Western Division. However, the following year the White Sox finished 94-68 under Lamont and were first in the AL West for the first time since they won 99 games in 1983 under [[Tony La Russa]]. His team consisted of such stars as [[Frank Thomas (designated hitter)|Frank Thomas]], [[Robin Ventura]], [[Ellis Burks]], [[Jack McDowell]], [[Alex Fernandez (baseball)|Alex Fernandez]], [[Jason Bere]], and [[Wilson Álvarez]].  Lamont took home the AL [[Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award|Manager of the Year]] award that year, and the team lost in the [[American League Championship Series]] to the soon-to-be champs, the [[Toronto Blue Jays]].
@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
 Lamont returned to the Pirates and began coaching again, before Leyland left in [[1997 in baseball|1997]], giving Lamont the job of manager once again. He was the third Pirates manager to have been a catcher during his playing career, along with Billy Meyer and Jim Leyland. Amazingly, in his first year Lamont finished second with a young, inexperienced team that was widely predicted to finish last. His team often upset many NL teams vying for playoff spots. He came in 2nd place in the manager of the year voting behind [[Dusty Baker]] of the [[San Francisco Giants]].
-There was no continued success for the Pirates though, finishing in last place in the Central in [[1998 in baseball|1998]]. After the terrible [[2000 in baseball|2000]] season, Lamont was fired and replaced by [[Lloyd McClendon]].
+There was no continued success for the Pirates though, finishing in last place in the Central in [[1998 in baseball|1998]]. After a terrible [[2000 in baseball|2000]] season, Lamont was fired and replaced by [[Lloyd McClendon]].
 He has a career record of 553&ndash;562, barely below .500 at .496, despite the many bad Pirates seasons. His all-time record in Chicago was 258&ndash;210, and he was 295&ndash;352 in Pittsburgh. Lamont had two first-place finishes, including the strike shortened year.
-Lamont returned to coaching, with the Red Sox and the Astros. He has been a coach with the Tigers since the 2006 season.[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/L/Plamog101.htm]
+Lamont returned to coaching, with the Red Sox, the Astros, and (from 2006&ndash;2017) with the Tigers.[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/L/Plamog101.htm]
 On November 12, 2011, Lamont was interviewed for the [[Manager (baseball)|manager]] position for the [[Boston Red Sox]] after the Red Sox declined to exercise [[Terry Francona]]'s 2012 option for manager. Lamont joined [[Torey Lovullo]], [[Sandy Alomar, Jr.]], [[Pete Mackanin]], and [[Dale Sveum]] vying for the managerial position.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2011/09/30/ignore-spin-red-sox-fired-terry-francona/Gu52pzZWWw8Af4iQ49WH7L/story.xml|title=Ignore the spin — Red Sox fired Francona|date=October 1, 2011|accessdate=November 12, 2011|first=Dan|last=Shaughnessy|newspaper=The Boston Globe|page=A1|authorlink=Dan Shaughnessy}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=McDonald|first=Joe|title=Red Sox interview Gene Lamont|url=http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/7226718/boston-red-sox-interview-gene-lamont-manager-job|accessdate=13 November 2011|newspaper=ESPN Boston|date=12 November 2011}}</ref> As of November 27, only Lamont and [[Bobby Valentine]] were still in contention for the position. On November 29, it was reported that Valentine would be the new Red Sox manager.