Dennis Patrick Lamp (born September 23, 1952) is a 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

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 dr ...

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 (A ...

. From 1977 through 1992, the breaking ball specialist played for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, and

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 ...

Career

Lamp was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. Lamp was selected in the third round (62nd overall) by the Cubs in that year's MLB Draft. After graduating from St. John Bosco High School in

Bellflower, California Bellflower is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1906 and incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 79,190, up ...

in 1971,Crowe, Jerry. "Former big league pitcher Dennis Lamp's adaptability still serves him well," ''Los Angeles Times'', Sunday, January 30, 2011.
/ref> Lamp began his career as a Cub, but was traded to the crosstown

for pitcher

Ken Kravec Kenneth Peter Kravec (born July 29, 1951) is an American professional baseball scout and a former Major League pitcher and front office official. The , left-hander appeared in 160 games pitched, 128 as a starter, exclusively for the White Sox ( ...

. His seven wins and 15 saves helped the White Sox win their division by a whopping 20 games and reach the

ALCS The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...

. A month later, he was granted free agency and signed with the

. 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 Luis Enrique "Tite" Arroyo, (February 18, 1927 – January 13, 2016) was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1955 to 1963. Arroyo was the first Puerto Rican player to appear for the New York Yankees and was a key part of their pennant winning s ...

'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

, who won their division and advanced to the

NLCS The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National ...

, 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 The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-re ...

. On August 13, 1979, he gave up

Lou Brock Louis Clark Brock (June 18, 1939September 6, 2020) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent most of it as a left fielder for the St. Louis ...

's 3,000th hit. 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 The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

at Memorial Stadium on August 16, 1981.

Post season appearances

Lamp has pitched in the

on three occasions: 1983 with the White Sox, 1985 with the Blue Jays, and 1990 with the Red Sox.

Life after baseball

Lamp has worked behind the seafood counter at Bristol Farms in

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws v ...

since 2004.

References

External links

o
Dennis Lamp at Baseballbiography.com
o
The Baseball Page
o
Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamp, Dennis 1952 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Los Angeles Boston Red Sox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Caldwell Cubs players Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Key West Conchs players Major League Baseball pitchers Midland Cubs players Oakland Athletics players Pittsburgh Pirates players Quincy Cubs players Toronto Blue Jays players Wichita Aeros players