TORONTO -- Dennis Lamp, relief ace for the Chicago White Sox in their 1983 pennant drive, has signed a five-year pact with the Toronto Blue Jays that he said Tuesday could earn him $1 million next season.
'If everything falls into place I could conceivably make that much,' said the 31-year-old right-hander, who had 15 saves in 1983 to anchor the White Sox bullpen as the team topped the American League West and competed in post-season play for the first time in 24 years.
Lamp told reporters the contract, fully guaranteed for three years, included performance bonuses. One clause called for a bonus based on the number of appearances, beginning at 50. Last year, he appeared in 49 games.
Blue Jays' general manager Pat Gillick and vice-president Paul Beeston sealed the deal at a three-hour meeting with Lamp at a Chicago hotel Monday night.
Lamp said the Blue Jays offered 'far more' money than the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles, the other two clubs bidding for his services. But he said his major incentive to sign with Toronto was the club's eagerness.
'After we were talking for about 20 minutes it was apparent they wanted me to sign right away,' he said.
The Blue Jays discussed tentative terms with Lamp's agent just after the baseball winter meetings in early December. But they made a definite offer only after former New York Yankees' relief ace Rich 'Goose' Gossage signed with the San Diego Padres Friday. Gillick said the final deal differed by 'only about 10 percent' from the original offer.
'If we had signed Gossage, we would not have been able to afford Dennis as well,' Gillick said. 'Lamp is a good relief picher, Gossage is a great relief pitcher. Gossage shuts down games 80 percent of the time he comes out.'
Lamp said he almost lost his patience while waiting for Gossage to decide where he would play.
'It was a risk waiting, but I figured it was worth it,' he said.
Gillick said the team tried to negotiate trades for Lamp in 1982 and 1983.
Lamp posted a 7-7 record with a 3.71 ERA in 1983. He has played seven years in the major leagues, breaking in with the Chicago Cubs of the National League in 1977. He was traded to the White Sox in March 1981.
His career record is 53-62, with a 3.83 ERA and 20 saves in 247 games. He has played most of his career as a starter but was recently moved to the bullpen.
Toronto manager Bobby Cox hailed the signing as 'another big step forward in our quest for our first pennant.'
The Jays were looking for a solution to their bullpen problems, which contributed to a late-season slump that left them in fourth place in the American League East. A mid-season surge put them on top for more than a month.
