Skip Lockwood

Baseball career

Skip Lockwood was a standout athlete at Catholic Memorial High School in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, where he collected 14 varsity letters over four years. His 1964 time in the 100-yard dash remains the school record. Originally a third baseman, Lockwood signed with the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent right out of high school in 1964.

The Athletics’ scout arrived at the Lockwood home with a contract for $35,000. Lockwood told the scout he needed to make one change before signing, and he added a “1” to the front of the amount, turning it into $135,000. The nervous scout asked to use the Lockwoods’ phone to call team owner Charlie Finley.

Finley spoke directly to Lockwood, asking why he should get that much money. “Because I’ll make you a winner,” Lockwood replied. The scout got back on the line, and Finley approved the higher figure.

Pitcher

Lockwood batted just .208 for the Burlington Bees, though he showed some pop with five home runs in 236 at-bats, and was promoted to the majors. With the Athletics, he hit only .121 with 11 strikeouts in 33 at-bats, and spent the next two seasons back in the minors. He could handle fastballs but had trouble with breaking pitches. On November 28, 1967, the Houston Astros selected him in the Rule 5 draft, but after spring training they returned him to his original club, which had moved to Oakland.

Back in the Athletics organization, Lockwood was converted to a pitcher, even though he had thrown only one inning in the minors, with the Modesto Reds. On October 15, 1968, the Seattle Pilots picked him in the expansion draft. In the Pilots’ lone season, Lockwood made his major league pitching debut, going 0–1 with a 3.52 ERA over six games, three of them starts.

He stayed with the franchise after it moved to Milwaukee, spending most of his next four seasons as a starting pitcher for the Brewers. In his final year with Milwaukee, 1973, he made 22 relief appearances out of 37 total games, a big shift for a pitcher who had previously come out of the bullpen only seven times.

Outside baseball

Lockwood bounced between several colleges during his off-seasons, including Merrimack, Boston College, Bryant and Stratton, Marquette, and Carroll, before earning a cum laude bachelor’s from Emerson College in 1976, his eighth MLB season. He later added two master’s degrees, one from Fairfield and another from MIT, where he received an S.M. He is among the rare MIT alumni to play in the majors. A skilled candlepin bowler, Lockwood also authored his 2018 memoir Insight Pitch without a ghostwriter.

Did You Know?

• Lockwood changed a $35,000 contract offer to $135,000 by adding a "1" in front of the amount, and Athletics owner Charlie Finley approved it after Lockwood said, "Because I'll make you a winner."
• Lockwood set a Mets season record for games pitched in 1977 with 63.