Ronald Thomas Locke (April 4, 1939 – December 13, 2024) was an American 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. A left-handed

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, ...

listed as tall and , he appeared in 25 games for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

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 ...

in , working as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

in three and as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

in the remainder.

Biography

Locke was born in

Wakefield, Rhode Island Wakefield is a village in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States, and the commercial center of South Kingstown. Together with the village of Peace Dale, it is treated by the U.S. Census as a component of the census-designate ...

on April 4, 1939. A star pitcher at

South Kingstown High School South Kingstown High School (SKHS), originally known as the Wakefield High School is a public high school located in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. Approximately 931 students attend South Kingstown High School in grades 9–12. South Kingstown H ...

in Rhode Island, after graduation he went to work at

General Dynamics Electric Boat General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) is a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation. It has been the primary builder of submarines for the United States Navy for more than 100 years. The company's main facilities are a shipyard in Groton, Co ...

and began playing for its baseball team. After posting an 11–0 record with a 0.25

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 ...

(ERA), he attended a tryout with the

Auburn Mets Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia * Auburn, Tasmania *Aubu ...

and earned a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

contract. Having begun his minor league career in 1963, he continued in the minors through 1970, briefly joining 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 ...

' and

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 ...

' systems in 1966 before returning to the Mets' organization, where he finished his career. He compiled a minor league record of 62 wins and 48 losses, with a 3.05 ERA. In his rookie season, with the Class A Auburn Mets of the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

in 1963, Locke

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safel ...

249 men in 217

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 ...

, and won 18 games. As a Met in 1964, Locke was credited with the

win Win or WIN most likely refers to: * A victory Win, Winning, WIN or Winner may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * '' Win!'', a 2016 American film Literature * ''Win'' (Coben novel), 2021 * WIN (pacifist magazine) * WIN (wrestling ma ...

in one game, the loss in two others, and posted an ERA of 3.48. In 41

, he allowed 46

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 22

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 ...

, registering 17

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s. His lone victory came on August 2 against the

Houston Colt .45s The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. They are one of two major league clubs based in Tex ...

Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium ( ), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City.manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and Manager (baseball), manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, t ...

, Locke surrendered five hits and two

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s over seven

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

, and earned credit for the Mets' 4–2 win. Willard Hunter got the save. A resident of

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,395; it was estimated to have grown to 95,949 in 2022, making it the List o ...

for 25 years, Locke died in

Richmond, Rhode Island Richmond is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 8,020 at the 2020 census. It contains the villages of Alton, Arcadia, Barberville, Carolina, Hillsdale, Kenyon, Shannock, Tug Hollow, Usquepaug, Woo ...

, on December 13, 2024, at the age of 85.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Locke, Ron 1939 births 2024 deaths Auburn Mets players Baseball players from Rhode Island Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Jacksonville Suns players Macon Peaches players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Blues players New York Mets players People from South Kingstown, Rhode Island Sportspeople from Washington County, Rhode Island Tidewater Tides players Williamsport Mets players 20th-century American sportsmen