Skip Lockwood

Claude Edward (Skip) Lockwood Jr. (born August 17, 1946) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers (1969–1973), California Angels (1974), New York Mets (1975–1979) and Boston Red Sox (1980).

Lockwood was the last of the original Seattle Pilots to play for the Brewers, being traded to the California Angels prior to the 1974 season.

Baseball career

Third base

Lockwood attended Catholic Memorial High School in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, where he earned 14 varsity letters in four years. His school record time in the 100-yard dash in 1964 still stands. Lockwood was a third baseman when he signed with the Kansas City Athletics out of high school in 1964 as an amateur free agent. The scout representing the Athletics came to the Lockwood home with a $35,000 contract. Lockwood said that he needed to make one change before signing, and added a "1" in front of the contract amount, changing the number to $135,000. The scout was nervous and asked to use the Lockwood's phone to call Athletics' owner Charlie Finley. Finley spoke to Lockwood directly, asking why he should give Lockwood the money. "Because I'll make you a winner," said Lockwood. The scout went back on the phone, and Finley approved the higher amount.

Despite batting only .208 with the Burlington Bees, he showed decent power with five home runs in 236 at bats, and was brought up to the majors for the season. With the A's, he batted only .121 with eleven strikeouts in 33 at bats, and was back in the minor leagues the next two seasons. Lockwood could hit fastballs, but struggled with breaking balls.

Pitcher

On November 28, , Lockwood was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 1967 Rule 5 draft, but, following spring training, he was returned to his original club, which had moved to Oakland. Upon his return to the Athletics organization, Lockwood was converted to a pitcher despite having only pitched one inning with the Modesto Reds in . On October 15, , he was selected by the Seattle Pilots in the 1968 expansion draft. During their first and only season, he made his major league debut on the mound with the Pilots, going 0–1 with a 3.52 earned run average in six games.

Lockwood spent the next four years with the franchise following their move to Milwaukee, and spent most of his time with the Brewers as a starting pitcher. In his final season in Milwaukee, 1973, he made 22 of his 37 appearances out of the bullpen. Up to that point, he'd only made seven appearances in relief.

Relief pitcher

Lockwood was involved in a nine-player transaction when he was sent along with Ellie Rodríguez, Ollie Brown, Joe Lahoud and Gary Ryerson from the Brewers to the Angels for Steve Barber, Clyde Wright, Ken Berry, Art Kusnyer and cash on October 23, 1973. He was used almost exclusively as a reliever by the Angels (35 relief appearances, two starts). With the Angels, he earned his first save. After a 2–5 season, he was dealt from the Angels to the New York Yankees for Bill Sudakis at the Winter Meetings on December 3, 1974.

In 1975, Lockwood joined the New York Mets, with whom he blossomed as a reliever. In and , Lockwood earned 19 and 20 saves, respectively, and established a Mets season record for games pitched in 1977 with 63. According to the Mets blog, ''Amazin' Avenue'', Lockwood was in 2007 the forty-second best player in Mets history. Unfortunately Lockwood played for the Mets during one of the darker times in franchise history (98 losses in 1977, 96 in & 99 in ).

He signed with the Boston Red Sox for the 1980 season, going 3–1 and making one start. The following Spring, he was released by the Red Sox, and retired shortly afterwards. In twelve seasons, Lockwood's career stats are:

Outside baseball

Lockwood attended several universities in the months between his MLB seasons, including Merrimack College, Boston College, Bryant and Stratton Commercial School, Marquette University, and Carroll College. He finally graduated with a ''cum laude'' bachelor's degree from Emerson College in 1976, his eighth year in the majors. He has two master's degrees, one from Fairfield, and the other from MIT. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a S.M. in . He is one of the few MIT graduates who have played Major League Baseball. Lockwood was also an accomplished candlepin bowler.

In 2018, Lockwood released a memoir entitled ''Insight Pitch'', which he wrote without using a ghostwriter.

References

External links

"Interview with Skip Lockwood Major League Baseball Player, Author, and MIT Graduate"
Fame Booking July 11th, 2019

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockwood, Skip
1946 births
Living people
Kansas City Athletics players
Seattle Pilots players
Milwaukee Brewers players
California Angels players
New York Mets players
Boston Red Sox players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball third basemen
Baseball players from Massachusetts
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
Burlington Bees players
Modesto Reds players
Peninsula Grays players
Birmingham A's players
Elmira Pioneers players
Portland Beavers players
Tidewater Tides players
Tucson Toros players
Denver Bears players
People from Norwood, Massachusetts
People from Roslindale
Catholic Memorial School alumni
Emerson College alumni