| Gene Lamont | |
|---|---|
 Lamont with the Detroit Tigers in June 2013 | |
| Pittsburgh Pirates – No. 54 | |
| Catcher /Manager /Coach | |
| Born: (1946-12-25)December 25, 1946 (age 78) 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 runs | 4 |
| Runs batted in | 14 |
| Managerial record | 553–562 |
| Winning % | .496 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Gene William Lamont (born December 25, 1946) is an American formercatcher andmanager who is a special assistant to the manager of thePittsburgh Pirates inMajor League Baseball (MLB).[1] He played professionally inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theDetroit Tigers and managed theChicago White Sox (1992–1995) and Pirates (1997–2000). He later served as a coach for the Tigers (2006–2017). He batted left handed and threw right handed.
Lamont was born inRockford, Illinois on Christmas Day in 1946. He was aChicago Cubs fan all his life, growing up inKirkland, Illinois, and attendingWestern Illinois University.
He was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 1st round, as the 13th pick, of the1965 amateur draft, and came up with them as a September call-up in1970, when he had 13hits in 44at 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 theTigers upon being selected from theRichmond Braves in theRule 5 draft on December 3, 1973.[1] After1975, his major league career, spent entirely with the Tigers, was over. He bounced around in the minors, on triple-AEvansville (with such players asTom Brookens andJerry Manuel) before stopping. He ended with a lifetimebatting average of .233, with fourhome runs and 14RBI in 87games played. He had 37 hits in 159 at-bats, andstole one base.
The highlight of his time as a player was a home run in his first at bat of his career off theBoston Red Sox'Cal Koonce.
In1977 with theKansas City Royals organization managing their single-AFort Myers team for two years. After that, he guided the double-AJacksonville Suns to a championship in1982 and again in1983, being namedSouthern League Manager of the Year in 1982.
Finally, after two seasons with the triple-AOmaha Royals in theminors, he worked his way up to the majors, serving as a third base coach forJim Leyland's1986 Pirates team. By the early '90s, with the Pirates emergence as a contender, Lamont was being considered by some teams for a managing job.
In1992,Jeff Torborg left the White Sox to take the managing job with theNew York Mets, and Lamont was named manager of Chicago. That year, the Sox did well, finishing 86–76, 3rd in theAmerican 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 underTony La Russa. His team consisted of such stars asFrank Thomas,Robin Ventura,Ellis Burks,Jack McDowell,Alex Fernandez,Jason Bere, andWilson Álvarez. Lamont took home the ALManager of the Year award that year, and the team lost in theAmerican League Championship Series to the defending champions, theToronto Blue Jays.
In1994, abaseball strike took place. When it began, the White Sox had the best record in the division by a narrow margin over theCleveland 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 managerRon Schueler in a move that shocked Lamont.[2] He was replaced byTerry Bevington, who had served as the third base coach.
Lamont returned to the Pirates and began coaching for his mentorJim Leyland again, before Leyland left for theFlorida Marlins after the 1996 season. Lamont was named the next Pirates manager in 1997. He was the third Pirates manager to have been a catcher during his playing career, along with Billy Meyer and Leyland. Amazingly, the 1997 Pirates - affectionately nicknamed "The Freak Show" for their $9 million dollar payroll and mix of young, inexperienced players and scrappy veterans who upset many NL teams vying for playoff spots - remained in contention until the final week of the season and finished second in the NL Central with a team that was widely predicted to finish last.[3][4] Lamont came in 2nd place in the Manager of the Year voting behindDusty Baker of theSan Francisco Giants.
There was no continued success for the Pirates though, finishing in last place in the Central in1998 after a late season freefall saw them lose 25 of their last 30 games.[5]
In1999, the Pirates traded for sluggerBrian Giles and signed shortstopPat Meares and third basemanEd Sprague, who would represent the team in the All-Star Game that year. However, after a promising start, a hand injury to Meares and a broken ankle suffered by catcherJason Kendall on the 4th of July likely cost the Pirates a winning season as the team would fade to a 78-83 finish.[6]
Expectations were perhaps a tad too high from ownerKevin McClatchy, who thought the2000 team (the last to play inThree Rivers Stadium before the opening ofPNC Park) should win 90 games, with Lamont entering the season on the last year of his contract being a sign that improvement was necessary. After another injury-plagued season that saw the team's runs against drop from 9th-best in the majors in 1999 to 21st in 2000, resulting in 93 losses, Lamont was fired and replaced byLloyd McClendon.[4]
He has a career record of 553–562, barely below .500 at .496. 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.[7]
On November 12, 2011, Lamont was interviewed for themanager position for theBoston Red Sox after the Red Sox declined to exerciseTerry Francona's 2012 option for manager. Lamont joinedTorey Lovullo,Sandy Alomar Jr.,Pete Mackanin, andDale Sveum vying for the managerial position.[6][8] As of November 27, only Lamont andBobby 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 byTom Brookens, who was previously the 1st base coach.
On January 17, 2018, Lamont was hired by theKansas City Royals to be the special assistant to the general manager.[9]
On May 16, 2025 Lamont returned for his third stint with the Pirates, as an advisor on new managerDon Kelly's staff, where Lamont will also serve as the team's bench coach.[10] Lamont had coached Kelly while the latter played for theDetroit Tigers.
Lamont is married to Melody. They have two children, Melissa and Wade.[11]
| 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 | LostALCS (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[12] | 1115 | 553 | 562 | .496 | 2 | 4 | .333 | |||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) · Baseball Almanac| 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 |
