Thomas Michael Lampkin (born March 4, 1964) is a former
catcher
Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
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), ...
who played in , –, and –.
Career
Lampkin was born in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
to Mike and Shirley Lampkin and grew up in
Clyde Hill, Washington
Clyde Hill is a city located in King County, Washington. It is part of the Eastside (King County, Washington), Eastside region, located to the east of Seattle, and is bordered by the cities and towns of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, Kirkland, Wa ...
. He was one of five children.
Beginning at 15 years old in 1977, he worked as a clubhouse assistant for the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
at the
Kingdome
The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District, Seattle, Industrial District (later SoDo, Seattle, SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. O ...
, even working the
1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and babysitting
's children.
He attended high school at
Bishop Blanchet High School
Bishop Blanchet High School is a private coeducational Catholic high school located north of Green Lake in Seattle, United States. The school was founded in 1954 by the Archdiocese of Seattle, and named for the first bishop of the diocese, A.M ...
and, after being undrafted out of high school, played
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...
at
Edmonds Community College
Edmonds College, formerly Edmonds Community College, is a public community college in Lynnwood, Washington. More than 17,000 students annually take courses for credit toward a certificate or degree at the college. The college employs more than 1 ...
in
Lynnwood, Washington
Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 405. It is the fou ...
and the
University of Portland
, mottoeng = The truth will set you free
, established = 1901
, type = Private university
, religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross)
, endowment = $218 million
, president = Robert D. Kelly
, students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...
.
He was selected in the eleventh round of the
1986 Major League Baseball Draft by the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
.
Lampkin was assigned to the
Batavia Trojans of the
New York–Penn League
The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...
to begin his professional career.
He made his Major League debut with the Indians on September 10, 1988 as a defensive replacement for
Terry Francona
Terrence Jon Francona (born April 22, 1959), nicknamed "Tito", is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he was the manager of the Boston Red Sox fo ...
(who had pinch hit for catcher
Ron Tingley
Ronald Irvin Tingley (born May 27, 1959) is an American former professional baseball catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 10th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft.
Career 1979-1984
He sp ...
).
He appeared in only four games for the Indians that season and none the following season, before being traded to the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...
for
Alex Cole
Alexander Cole Jr. (born August 17, 1965) is an American former professional baseball outfielder.
Career
Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2nd round of the 1985 MLB amateur draft, Cole would make his Major League debut with the Cleveland ...
on July 11, 1990. Lampkin spent parts of three seasons with the Padres before moving to the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
. In his one season in Milwaukee in 1993, he received more Major League plate appearances than in his prior four Major League seasons combined. However, he was granted free agency following the season and, despite being signed by the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
in January 1994, did not appear in another Major League game until 1995.
With the Giants in 1996, Lampkin for the first time in his career led his team in games played at catcher. He also led the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
by
throwing out 51.5% of all would-be
base stealers. Following the season, he was traded to the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
where, in two seasons, he saw the most playing time of his career as a backup to
Mike DiFelice and
Eli Marrero
Elieser Marrero (born November 17, 1973), is a former Major League Baseball player. Marrero started his career as a catcher, but spent time at first base, third base and in the outfield.
Playing career
Marrero was selected in the third round of ...
respectively.
Prior to the 1999 season, the Mariners signed Lampkin to a two-year contract for $1.55 million to back up
Dan Wilson. In Seattle, Lampkin worked with baserunning coach
Vince Coleman not on his own baserunning but to learn to "anticipate what the good base-stealers do."
Although injuries limited his playing time in 2000, he played well enough in his first two seasons to earn a $1.2 million contract for the 2001 season. The
2001 Seattle Mariners tied a
Major League record for the winningest season in history and Lampkin saw his first postseason action, getting a hit in the
2001 American League Championship Series
The 2001 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was a rematch of the 2000 ALCS between the New York Yankees, who had come off a dramatic comeback against the Oakland Athletics in the Division Series after being down two games to zero, and th ...
.
On December 11, 2001, the Mariners traded Lampkin to San Diego with
Brett Tomko
Brett Daniel Tomko (born April 7, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Los Ange ...
and
Ramón Vázquez
Ramón Luis Vázquez (born August 21, 1976) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball coach and a former infielder. He is currently the bench coach for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Vázquez played in MLB for the Seattle Marin ...
for
Alex Arias
Alejandro Arias (born November 20, 1967) is an American former professional baseball infielder, who played Major League Baseball from 1992 to 2002.
In his career, Arias played for the Chicago Cubs (), Florida Marlins (–), Philadelphia Phillies ...
,
Ben Davis and
Wascar Serrano
Wascar Radames Serrano (born June 2, 1977 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played part of one season in Major League Baseball for the San Diego Padres in 2001. After pitching in 2003 for ...
. Lampkin was disappointed by the trade and expressed at the time that he had hoped to finish his career in Seattle.
Lampkin was the starting catcher for the Padres during the 2002 season but retired that offseason.
Personal life
, Lampkin and his wife, Lori Kath, had three children, Jennifer, Stephanie and Thomas Michael.
, he lived in
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...
.
, he was the head baseball coach at
Union High School in
Camas, Washington
Camas is a city in Clark County, Washington, with a population of 26,065 at the 2020 census. The east side of town borders the city of Washougal, Washington, and the west side of town borders Vancouver, Washington. Camas lies along the Washing ...
.
References
External links
, o
RetrosheetPura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lampkin, Tom
1964 births
Living people
Baseball players from Cincinnati
Batavia Trojans players
Bishop Blanchet High School alumni
Cleveland Indians players
Colorado Springs Sky Sox players
Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players
Major League Baseball catchers
Milwaukee Brewers players
New Orleans Zephyrs players
Phoenix Firebirds players
Portland Pilots baseball players
San Diego Padres players
San Francisco Giants players
San Jose Giants players
Seattle Mariners players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Tacoma Rainiers players
Tiburones de La Guaira players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
University of Portland alumni
Waterloo Indians players
Williamsport Bills players
Edmonds Tritons baseball players