American baseball player (born 1952)
Baseball player
Dennis Patrick Lamp
(born September 23, 1952) is an American former
professional baseball
pitcher
in
Major League Baseball
. From 1977 through 1992, the breaking ball specialist played for the
Chicago Cubs
,
Chicago White Sox
,
Toronto Blue Jays
,
Oakland Athletics
,
Boston Red Sox
, and
Pittsburgh Pirates
.
Career
[
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]
Lamp was born in
Los Angeles, California
. After graduating in 1971 from
St. John Bosco High School
in
Bellflower, California
, Lamp was selected in the third round (62nd overall) by the Cubs in
that year's MLB Draft
.
[1]
[2]
[3]
Lamp began his career as a Cub, but was traded to the crosstown
Chicago White Sox
for pitcher
Ken Kravec
. His seven wins and 15 saves helped the White Sox win their division by a whopping 20 games and reach the
ALCS
. A month later, he was granted free agency and signed with the
Toronto Blue Jays
.
In a 14-season career, Lamp posted a 96-96 record with a 3.93 ERA and 35 saves in 639 games pitched. His best season was 1985 when he went 11-0 with a 3.32 ERA in 105 innings pitched. In 1984 with the Blue Jays, Lamp came up just one win short of
Luis Arroyo
's 1961 record for most consecutive wins by a reliever.
He continued to pitch while approaching his 40th birthday, coming out of the bullpen in 21 games for the 1992
Pittsburgh Pirates
, who won their division and advanced to the
NLCS
, but he was released in June of that season.
Lamp was involved in two individual career milestones involving a pair of future
Baseball Hall of Famers
. On August 13, 1979, he gave up
Lou Brock
's 3,000th hit.
[4]
He also surrendered
Cal Ripken Jr.
's first major-league hit, a third-inning infield single in the White Sox's 8–7 victory over the
Baltimore Orioles
at
Memorial Stadium
on August 16, 1981.
[3]
[5]
Post season appearances
[
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]
Lamp has pitched in the
ALCS
on three occasions: 1983 with the White Sox, 1985 with the Blue Jays, and 1990 with the Red Sox.
Life after baseball
[
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]
Lamp has worked behind the seafood counter at
Bristol Farms
in
Newport Beach, California
, since 2004.
[3]
References
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]
External links
[
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]