View source for Tom Lawless

{{Short description|American baseball player and manager (born 1956)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography|
| name       = Tom Lawless
| image= TomLawless1987.jpg
| caption= Tom Lawless during his tenure with the Cardinals.
| position      = [[Infielder]] / [[Manager (baseball)|Manager]]
| team       = 
| number     = 
| bats       = Right
| throws     = Right
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1956|12|19}}
| birth_place = [[Erie, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
| debutdate  = July 15
| debutyear  = 1982
| debutteam  =  Cincinnati Reds 
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=July 4
|finalyear= 1990 
|finalteam= Toronto Blue Jays 
|statleague = MLB
| stat1label = [[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
| stat1value = .207
| stat2label = [[Home run]]s
| stat2value = 2
| stat3label = [[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
| stat3value = 24
|stat4label=Managerial record
|stat4value=11–13
|stat5label=Winning %
|stat5value={{Winning percentage|11|13}}
| teams      =
;As player
*[[Cincinnati Reds]] ({{mlby|1982}}–{{mlby|1984}})
*[[Montreal Expos]] ({{mlby|1984}})
*[[St. Louis Cardinals]] ({{mlby|1985}}–{{mlby|1988}})
*[[Toronto Blue Jays]] ({{mlby|1989}}–{{mlby|1990}})
;As manager
*[[Houston Astros]] ({{mlby|2014}})
}}
'''Thomas James Lawless''' (born December 19, 1956) is an American former [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) player who played between {{mlby|1982}} and {{mlby|1990}}, appearing with the [[Cincinnati Reds]], [[Montreal Expos]], [[St. Louis Cardinals]], and [[Toronto Blue Jays]].

He was the interim manager of the [[Houston Astros]] in 2014.

==Career==
Lawless grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, attending [[Strong Vincent High School]] and [[Penn State Behrend]], where he played baseball from 1975 to 1978.<ref>[https://behrend.psu.edu/news-events/behrend-magazine/february-2016/tom-lawless Behrend Magazine, Spring 2016]</ref>

Lawless became famous in {{mlby|1984}} when he became the only player ever traded for [[Pete Rose]].

Lawless, who only hit two regular-season home runs in his career, hit a dramatic go-ahead home run in Game 4 of the [[1987 World Series]] (he had hit .080 in 25 at-bats during the [[1987 in baseball|regular season]].) Lawless later expressed shock that he had managed to hit a home run. "When it went over the wall, I thought, 'Holy cow, it went out.' I went blank. I don't remember flipping the bat."<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IgZEAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dbAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1093,1244539&dq=tom+lawless+world+series+home+run&hl=en First Lawless homer was with Cincinnati]</ref>

On  May 10, 1989, while with the Toronto Blue Jays, Lawless' ninth-inning single broke up a [[No-hitter|no-hit]] bid by [[Mark Langston]] of the [[Seattle Mariners]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lq5PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2AYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6312,3285593&dq=tom+lawless+mark+langston&hl=en Langston loses no-hitter in ninth]</ref>

A fast and highly skilled baserunner, Lawless struggled to hit major league pitching and retired in 1990.  He entered the coaching ranks and has become a successful [[minor league baseball|minor league]] manager.  In 2007, he served as a coach for the China national baseball team during its participation in Major League Baseball's Instructional League program and in the Arizona Fall League.  He managed the [[Lexington Legends]], the Class A affiliate of the [[Houston Astros]], for the 2009 season. On November 16, 2009, Lawless was named the new manager for the [[Lancaster JetHawks]], the Class A Advanced affiliate of the Houston Astros, for the 2010 season. In 2011, Lawless was managing the [[Corpus Christi Hooks]] of the [[Texas League]].  On September 1, 2014, after the Astros fired [[Bo Porter]], Lawless was hired as the interim manager.<ref>[https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/09/astros-fire-bo-porter.html Astros fire Bo Porter]</ref> As interim manager with Houston, he had a record of 11 wins and 13 losses.

==Managerial record==
{| class="wikitable" Style="text-align: center"
|-
!rowspan="2"|Team!!rowspan="2"|From!!rowspan="2"|To!!colspan="4"|Regular season record!!colspan="4"|Post–season record
|-
!{{Tooltip|G|Games managed}}!!{{Tooltip|W|Games won}}!!{{Tooltip|L|Games lost}}!!{{Tooltip|Win %|Winning percentage}}!!{{Tooltip|G|Games managed}}!!{{Tooltip|W|Games won}}!!{{Tooltip|L|Games lost}}!!{{Tooltip|Win %|Winning percentage}}
|-
|[[Houston Astros]]||[[2014 Houston Astros season|2014]]||[[2014 Houston Astros season|2014]]
|24||{{WinLossPct|11|13}}
|colspan="4"|—
|-
!colspan="3"| Total
!24!!{{WinLossPct|11|13}}
!0!!{{WinLossPct|0|0}}
|-
!colspan="11"|{{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference}}:<ref name="managerial record">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/lawleto01.shtml|title=Tom Lawless Managerial Record|work=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|accessdate=February 21, 2018}}</ref>
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats |br=l/lawleto01 |brm=lawles001tho}}
{{baseball-reference manager|lawleto01}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box | title=[[Frederick Keys|Frederick Keys manager]] | before= [[Jack Voigt]] | years=2003-2004| after= [[Bien Figueroa]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Houston Astros managers}}
{{Frederick Keys managers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawless, Tom}}
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Erie, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Billings Mustangs players]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds players]]
[[Category:Houston Astros managers]]
[[Category:Indianapolis Indians players]]
[[Category:Louisville Redbirds players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball left fielders]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball right fielders]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball second basemen]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball third basemen]]
[[Category:Minor league baseball managers]]
[[Category:Montreal Expos players]]
[[Category:Penn State Nittany Lions baseball players]]
[[Category:St. Louis Cardinals players]]
[[Category:Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players]]
[[Category:Toronto Blue Jays players]]
[[Category:Waterbury Reds players]]
[[Category:Wichita Aeros players]]