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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player and

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who appeared in portions of three seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. Born in

Sharon, Connecticut Sharon is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, in the northwest corner of the state. At the time of the United States 2020 Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population ...

, 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. The high school serves the six towns of the Region 1 School District, comprising the towns of Canaan, Cornwall, Kent, North Can ...

— 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 retired professional baseball pitcher and television sports color commentator. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in ...

— in 1964. He then entered the Pirates'

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, 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 pl ...

. In 1969, he enjoyed a breakout season with Salem 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 Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

, all in

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

, 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. After having internal, informal divisions for ...

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 ...

, losing his only decision (September 17 against the

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

) 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, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

, 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 semifinal matchup of the 1970 MLB Postseason between the East Division champion Pittsburgh Pirates and the West Division champion Cincinnati Reds. The Reds swept the Pirates three games to none ...

, won by the

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

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 first team was the relocated Columbus Jets. In 197 ...

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 (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. 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 s ...

and 24

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

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 Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 3,769 at the 2020 census, down from 4,436 at the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern border of the county. History ...

, 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 largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, and the Northwest Hills Planning Region, Connecticut, Northwest Hills Planning Region. It is also the core city of Greater Torringto ...

, ''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 Litchfield County, Connecticut Charleston Charlies players Clinton Pilots players Gastonia Pirates players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Amenia, New York People from Sharon, Connecticut Baseball players from Dutchess County, New York Pittsburgh Pirates players Raleigh Pirates players Salem Rebels (baseball) players Waterbury Pirates players Housatonic Valley Regional High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen