Lawrence Donald "Bobby" Locke (March 3, 1934 – June 4, 2020) was an American
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professional ...
right-handed
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
, who played in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB) in all or parts of nine seasons (–; –) for the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
,
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
,
Philadelphia Phillies,
Cincinnati Reds and
California Angels. During his playing days, he stood tall, weighing .
Major League career
Cleveland Indians
Locke made his Indians' debut in 1959
[ against the ]Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
. He was the starting pitcher for the Indians, and his first pitch was to Don Buddin.[ After recording two outs, the first hit he gave up was to ]Vic Wertz
Victor Woodrow Wertz (February 9, 1925 – July 7, 1983) was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. He had a 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1947 to 1963. He played for the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Brown ...
, which resulted in Gene Stephens scoring the first run against Locke.[ In his debut he pitched for 5 2/3 innings and gave up five runs,][ but still managed to walk away with the ]no-decision
A no decision (sometimes written no-decision) is one of either of two sports statistics scenarios; one in baseball and softball, and the other in boxing and related combat sports.
Baseball and softball
A starting pitcher who leaves a game withou ...
. However, his main contribution to his debut was hitting a home run off Frank Sullivan, which resulted in three runs being scored.[ This was to be the only home run of his career.][
In 1959 overall, he posted a 3.13 ]ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
in 24 games, seven of them started. He struck out 40 batters, walked 41 and posted a record of 3–2.[
In 1960, Locke posted a 3–5 record, with an ERA of 3.37. He started 11 of the 32 games he appeared in and struck out 53 batters in 123 innings. He also completed the only two games of his career that year.][
In 1961 he posted a 4.53 ERA while giving up 112 hits in 95.1 innings. He walked 40 batters, struck out 37 and posted a 4–4 record.][
]
Career after the Indians
After the 1961 season, Locke was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Jerry Kindall
Gerald Donald Kindall (May 27, 1935 – December 24, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and college baseball player and coach. He was primarily a second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who appeared in 742 games played over ...
.
He moved to the St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
for the 1962 season but after only playing one game with them, he moved to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Between 1962 and 1964, Locke appeared in 22 games for the Phillies, with a record of one win and no losses.[
]
Totals
Overall, Locke had a 16–15 record in 165 games. In 416.2 innings pitched, he walked 165 batters (bases on balls) and struck out 194 while allowing 432 hits. As a batter he made 25 hits in 98 at-bats for a .255 career batting average with one home run and 12 RBI. As a fielder, he achieved a .968 fielding percentage.[
]
References
External links
Bobby Locke
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Bobby Locke
at Baseball Almanac
Bobby Locke
at Baseball Gauge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Locke, Bobby
1934 births
2020 deaths
Arkansas Travelers players
Baseball players from Pennsylvania
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
California Angels players
Cincinnati Reds players
Cleveland Indians players
Daytona Beach Islanders players
Hawaii Islanders players
Indianapolis Indians players
Keokuk Kernels players
Major League Baseball pitchers
People from Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Phillies players
Reading Indians players
St. Louis Cardinals players
San Diego Padres (minor league) players
Seattle Angels players
Sherbrooke Indians players
Syracuse Chiefs players
Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players