John Andrew Lamb (born July 20, 1946) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

and

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who appeared in portions of three seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

between and as a member of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. Born in

Sharon, Connecticut Sharon is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, in the northwest corner of the state. At the time of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 2,680. The ZIP code for Sharon is 06069. The urban center of the town is ...

, he was listed as tall and . Lamb graduated from

Housatonic Valley Regional High School Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS) is a public high school in Falls Village, Connecticut, United States. It was established in 1939 as a result of a special act of the Connecticut General Assembly in 1937. It is the first regional hig ...

— also the alma mater of star Pirates' right-hander and brother-in-law

Steve Blass Stephen Robert Blass (born April 18, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in a ...

— in 1964. He then entered the Pirates'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

. In 1969, he enjoyed a breakout season with

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

of the Class-A

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

, appearing in 50

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

, all in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

, and posting an 11–4 won–lost record and 18 saves, with a sparkling 1.95

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. He followed that campaign with another strong year in 1970, with a combined 6–2 record, 15 saves, and 1.17 earned run average in 39 games in Double-A and Triple-A. He was brought up to Pittsburgh in August for his MLB debut. When Lamb was recalled, the Pirates were involved in a three-team scramble for the

National League East Division The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

championship. Lamb worked in 23 games out of the Bucco

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

, losing his only decision (September 17 against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

) but collecting three saves. His earned run average was as low as 1.54 through his first 16 outings and 19

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

, but he faltered toward the end of the season and finished with a 2.78 ERA. The Pirates captured the division title, but Lamb did not appear in the

1970 National League Championship Series The 1970 National League Championship Series was a match-up between the East Division champion Pittsburgh Pirates and the West Division champion Cincinnati Reds. The Reds swept the Pirates three games to none and went on to lose the World Serie ...

, won by the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

in three straight games. In , the Pirates ran the table, winning their division, the National League pennant and the

1971 World Series The 1971 World Series was the championship round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1971 season and featured the first night game in its history. The 68th edition of the Fall Classic was a best-of-seven playoff between the defending World Series ...

. Lamb, however, spent most of the year in Triple-A, where he won eight games and saved 11 more for the

Charleston Charlies The Charleston Charlies were a Triple-A minor league baseball team located in Charleston, West Virginia. Two separate Charlies franchises played in the International League from 1971 to 1983. The team was the relocated Columbus Jets. In 1977 the ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. He was brought back to Pittsburgh in September as rosters expanded and hurled two scoreless relief appearances, but was not on the Pirates' postseason roster. Lamb then spent all of 1972 with Charleston, and struggled to a 5–9 record and a poor 4.96 ERA. But he turned things around in 1973, winning all six decisions with 12 saves and a 1.66 ERA in 31 games for Charleston, earning one last promotion to the Pirates in midsummer. However, he was largely ineffective, posting two more saves but being tagged with his second MLB loss and putting up a 6.07 earned run average. He ended his professional career with Charleston in 1974, his eleventh straight year in the Pirate organization. All told, Lamb worked in 47 MLB games, all in relief, and allowed 63

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

and 24

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

in 66 innings of work, with a career ERA of 4.07. He was credited with five saves. As of 2020, Lamb was still active in youth baseball, serving as pitching coach for

Amenia, New York Amenia is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 4,436 at the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern border of the county. History Amenia is one of the original towns formed by act of March 7, 1788. It compris ...

, High School, and assisting in pitching clinics there."Amenia puts the hurt on Torrington Sports Palace in Connie Mack baseball"

Torrington, Connecticut Torrington is the most populated municipality and only city in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut and the Northwest Hills (Connecticut), Northwest Hills region. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the ...

, ''Register–Citizen.'' July 1, 2015.

References

* Feeney, Charley
"A Man Named Lamb"
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''. November 29, 1971

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamb, John 1946 births Living people Baseball players from Connecticut Charleston Charlies players Clinton Pilots players Gastonia Pirates players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Amenia, New York People from Sharon, Connecticut Sportspeople from Litchfield County, Connecticut Pittsburgh Pirates players Raleigh Pirates players Salem Rebels (baseball) players Waterbury Pirates players Housatonic Valley Regional High School alumni