Franchise Four – NL Central

Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise.  The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati.  Today, I will give my Franchise Four picks for the National League Central, minus the Cubs.

F4Reds5 Hall of Famers should make this an easy choice, but the permanent exclusion of the all-time hit king adds a slight wrinkle to the proceedings for the Reds.  Let’s say that Johnny Bench and Frank Robinson hold down two of the spots.  That leaves Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Barry Larkin, and Pete Rose for the final two slots.  I’m going to go with the exiled Rose and Morgan.

F4Brewers

For a franchise that dates back to 1969, the Brewers, once you get past Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, don’t have much to choose from.  Ryan Braun, despite his association with PEDs, get my third slot.  I guess I’d give the final position to Rollie Fingers.

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#179 – Dennis Lamp

WhiteSox-dennislamp

Name: Dennis Lamp

Rank: 179

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1981-1983

Dennis Lamp joined the White Sox organization as spring training was winding down in 1981, acquired from the Cubs in exchange for Ken Kravec.  During the strike shortened season, Lamp appeared in 27 games for the White Sox, starting 10, and finished the year with 7-6 record and a 2.41 ERA.  In August, he gave up the first career hit to Cal Ripken Jr. and, 9 days later, he took a no hitter into the 9th inning against the Brewers, before Robin Yount broke it up with a leadoff double.

1982 again saw Lamp splitting duty between the starting rotation and the bullpen.  He appeared in 44 games, starting 27 of them.  He finished 11-8 with a 3.99 ERA and 5 saves.

In 1983, Lamp had mostly moved to the bullpen full time, although he still started 5 games.  He appeared in 49 games overall and lead the team with 15 saves.  He pitched in 3 out of the 4 ALCS games against the Orioles, giving up no hits or earned runs in 2 innings of work.

Following the season, Lamp became a free agent, drawing his White Sox career to a close.

Lamp’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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