Gene Lamont

Gene William Lamont (born December 25, 1946) is an American former catcher and manager. After 1975, his major league career, spent entirely with the Tigers, was over. He bounced around in the minors, on triple-A Evansville (with such players as Tom Brookens and Jerry Manuel) before stopping. He ended with a lifetime batting average of .233, with four home runs and 14 RBI in 87 games played. He had 37 hits in 159 at-bats, and stole one base.

The highlight of his time as a player was a home run in his first at bat of his career off the Boston Red Sox' Cal Koonce.

Managing career In 1977 with the Kansas City Royals organization managing their single-A Fort Myers team for two years. After that, he guided the double-A Jacksonville Suns to a championship in 1982 and again in 1983, being named Southern League Manager of the Year in 1982.

Finally, after two seasons with the triple-A Omaha Royals in the minors, he worked his way up to the majors, serving as a third base coach for Jim Leyland's 1986 Pirates team. By the early '90s, with the Pirates emergence as a contender, Lamont was being considered by some teams for a managing job.

In 1992, Jeff Torborg left the White Sox to take the managing job with the New York Mets, and Lamont was named manager of Chicago. That year, the Sox did well, finishing 86–76, 3rd in the American 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 under Tony La Russa. His team consisted of such stars as Frank Thomas, Robin Ventura, Ellis Burks, Jack McDowell, Alex Fernandez, Jason Bere, and Wilson Álvarez. Lamont took home the AL Manager of the Year award that year, and the team lost in the American League Championship Series to the defending champions, the Toronto Blue Jays.

In 1994, a baseball strike took place. When it began, the White Sox had the best record in the division by a narrow margin over the Cleveland 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 manager Ron Schueler in a move that shocked Lamont. He was replaced by Terry Bevington, who had served as the third base coach.

Lamont returned to the Pirates and began coaching for his mentor Jim Leyland again, before Leyland left for the Florida 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.

In 1999, the Pirates traded for slugger Brian Giles and signed shortstop Pat Meares and third baseman Ed 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 catcher Jason Kendall on the 4th of July likely cost the Pirates a winning season as the team would fade to a 78-83 finish.

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.

On November 12, 2011, Lamont was interviewed for the manager position for the Boston Red Sox after the Red Sox declined to exercise Terry Francona's 2012 option for manager. Lamont joined Torey Lovullo, Sandy Alomar Jr., Pete Mackanin, and Dale Sveum vying for the managerial position. As of November 27, only Lamont and Bobby 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 by Tom Brookens, who was previously the 1st base coach.

On January 17, 2018, Lamont was hired by the Kansas City Royals to be the special assistant to the general manager.

On May 16, 2025 Lamont returned for his third stint with the Pirates, as an advisor on new manager Don Kelly's staff, where Lamont will also serve as the team's bench coach. Lamont had coached Kelly while the latter played for the Detroit Tigers.

Personal life Lamont is married to Melody. They have two children, Melissa and Wade.

Managerial record

Team Year Regular season PostseasonGamesWonLostWin %Finish Won Lost Win % ResultCWS 162 3rd in AL West – – – –CWS 162 1st in AL West Lost ALCS (TOR)CWS 113 1st in AL Central – – – –CWS 31 fired – – – –CWS total 468 PIT 162 2nd in NL Central – – – –PIT 162 6th in NL Central – – – –PIT 161 3rd in NL Central – – – –PIT 162 5th in NL Central – – – –PIT total 647 Total 1115