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Gene Lamont

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Gene Lamont
Lamont in June 2013
Catcher / Manager
Born: (1946-12-25) December 25, 1946 (age 77)
Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
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 runs4
Runs batted in14
Managerial record553–562
Winning %.496
Teams
As player

As manager

As coach

Career highlights and awards

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

Early life

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Lamont was a Chicago Cubs fan all his life, growing up in Kirkland, Illinois, and attending Western Illinois University.

Playing career

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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 one hit in 15 at-bats. In his biggest year, he had 92 at-bats, playing as a backup to Tigers catcher Jerry Moses. He returned to the Tigers upon being selected from the Richmond Braves in the Rule 5 draft on December 3, 1973.[1] 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 four home runs and 14 RBI in 87 games played. He had 37 hits in 159 at-bats, and stole one base.

The highlight of his time as a player was a home run in his first at bat of his career off the Boston Red Sox' Cal Koonce.

Managing career

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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 defending champions, the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 1994, a baseball strike took place. When it began, the White Sox had the best record in the division by a narrow margin over the Cleveland Indians. However, the team did not fare as well the following year, starting out with an 11–20 record before Lamont was fired by general manager Ron Schueler in a move that shocked Lamont.[2] He was replaced by Terry Bevington, who had served as the third base coach.

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. Expectations were perhaps a tad too high from New owner Kevin McClatchy, who bought the team in 1996 and thought the 2000 team (the last to play before the opening of PNC Park) would win 90 games, with Lamont not receiving an extension being a sign. After a terrible 2000 season that saw them lose 93 games, Lamont was fired and replaced by Lloyd McClendon.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5][6] 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.[7]

Personal life

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Lamont is married to Melody. They have two children, Melissa and Wade.[8]

Managerial record

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As of September 18, 2015
Team Year Regular season Postseason
Games Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
CWS 1992 162 86 76 .531 3rd in AL West
CWS 1993 162 94 68 .580 1st in AL West 2 4 .333 Lost ALCS (TOR)
CWS 1994 113 67 46 .593 1st in AL Central
CWS 1995 31 11 20 .355 fired
CWS total 468 258 210 .551 2 4 .333
PIT 1997 162 79 83 .488 2nd in NL Central
PIT 1998 162 69 93 .426 6th in NL Central
PIT 1999 161 78 83 .484 3rd in NL Central
PIT 2000 162 69 93 .426 5th in NL Central
PIT total 647 295 352 .456 0 0
Total[9] 1115 553 562 .496 2 4 .333

References

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  1. ^ Durso, Joseph. "4 Trades Made at Meetings," The New York Times, Tuesday, December 4, 1973. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  2. ^ "White Sox Fire Lamont".
  3. ^ "ESPN.com: MLB - Pirates fire Lamont following 93-loss season". www.espn.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  4. ^ "Gene Lamont".
  5. ^ Shaughnessy, Dan (October 1, 2011). "Ignore the spin — Red Sox fired Francona". The Boston Globe. p. A1. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  6. ^ McDonald, Joe (November 12, 2011). "Red Sox interview Gene Lamont". ESPN Boston. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  7. ^ "Royals hire Big Slick favorite Gene Lamont as special assistant to GM". FOX Sports. January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  8. ^ "Gene Lamont Sr. Advisor to the GM/Baseball Operations". mlb.com. MLB Advanced Media, LP. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  9. ^ "Gene Lamont". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by
first manager
Fort Myers Royals Manager
1978–1979
Succeeded by
Preceded by Jacksonville Suns Manager
1980–1983
Succeeded by
Preceded by Omaha Royals Manager
1984–1985
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Pittsburgh Pirates Third Base Coach
1986–1991
Succeeded by
Preceded by Pittsburgh Pirates Third Base Coach
1996
Succeeded by
Preceded by Boston Red Sox Third Base Coach
2001
Succeeded by
Preceded by Houston Astros Third Base Coach
2002–2004
Succeeded by
Preceded by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Manager
2005
Succeeded by