Skip Lockwood

Claude Edward Lockwood Jr.

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 190 lb.
• Schools Marquette University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Emerson College
• High School Catholic Memorial High School (West Roxbury)
• Debut April 23, 1965
• Final Game September 10, 1980
• Born August 17, 1946 in Boston, MA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Skip Lockwood played 12 seasons in the big leagues, recording 68 saves. He was first a third baseman in the majors, then a starting pitcher, but spent most of his major league career as a reliever.

Lockwood was signed out of high school and began his minor league career as a third baseman in 1964 at Burlingon, where he was a teammate of Rene Lachemann. Because of the bonus rule in effect at the time, he had to spend the next season in the majors and made his major league debut in April 1965 with the Kansas City Athletics, appearing in 42 games (only seven in the field). He was back in the minors in 1966. After two more years as a position player, he became a pitcher in 1968. He went 6-3 in 1968, 6-2 in 1969 and 4-1 in 1970 in the minors. He came back to the majors as a pitcher in 1969, pitching six games with the doomed Seattle Pilots. He moved with the team to Milwaukee and pitched mostly as a starter from 1970 to 1973.

After the 1973 season, he was traded to the California Angels, for whom he became a reliever. After 1974, he was traded to the New York Mets, with whom he stayed five years, pitching solely in relief. He had a 1.49 ERA in 1975, 19 saves in 1976 (second in the National League), 20 saves in 1977 (fifth in the NL), 15 saves in 1978 (eighth in the 1978) and a 1.49 ERA again in 1979. He signed a free agent contract with the Boston Red Sox following the '79 tilt, but his arm was shot. As a result, he was relegated to mop-up relief in 1980. In 1981 he tried to come back by pitching for the Denver Bears of the American Association, but called it quits at the end of the season.

He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after his baseball career was over, earning a master's degree. Prior to that, during his baseball career, he had earned a college degree from Emerson College and done some other graduate work. His wife, Kathleen, has written her autobiography, centered around the challenges of being a baseball wife. Skip released his own memoir, Inside Pitch, in 2018.

Notable Achievements

• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1971)

Further Reading

• Kathleen Lockwood: Major League Bride: An Inside Look at Life Outside the Ballpark, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2010.
• Skip Lockwood: Insight Pitch: My Life as a Major League Closer, Sports Publishing, New York, NY, 2018. ISBN 978-1683581758

Related Sites

• Skip Lockwood at the SABR Bio Project