Charles G. LaMar Jr. (born c. 1956) is an American professional baseball scout, former college baseball head coach, and former general manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). LaMar was the first general manager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, hired approximately three years before they began play in the American League in 1998. Biography LaMar was born in Twin Falls, Idaho, and grew up in Houston, Texas, where his father, Charles LaMar Sr., was a coach at Willow Creek Little League. The younger LaMar attended Madison High School where he was a three-sport captain. He played college baseball at Texas Christian University. After his senior year, LaMar taught and coached at St. Thomas High School in Houston. Larry Smith, former head coach at Texas Wesleyan University, tabbed LaMar to be his assistant coach when Smith took the head coaching job at Indiana University in the Big Ten Conference. LaMar earned his master's degree in physical education from Indiana, then went on to become the head coach at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Major League Baseball In 1985, Lamar left to become a full-time scout with the Cincinnati Reds. LaMar signed the first working agreement between a Mexico and America professional baseball team. From the Reds, LaMar became the director of minor league operations with the Pittsburgh Pirates, holding the position during 1989–1990. From 1990 to 1992, the Pirates won three National League East Division titles. In 1991, LaMar moved to the Atlanta Braves and served as director of player development and scouting (through 1993), with the team winning its division in both seasons. He then served as assistant general manager and director of player personnel (1994–1995), working with general manager John Schuerholz during one of the most successful periods in Braves' history, as the club won the 1995 World Series. Tampa Bay Devil Rays LaMar was hired to be the first general manager of the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays on July 19, 1995, several months after the Tampa Bay franchise was awarded. During the eight seasons (1998–2005) when LaMar oversaw the Devil Rays franchise, the expansion team compiled a 518–777 (.400) record and only once won more than 70 games, in 2004. LaMar's tenure was characterized by moves such as trading Bobby Abreu and Dmitri Young while receiving Kevin Stocker and Mike Kelly in return. Those trades proved to be failures, as Abreu and Young went on to have successful