Bobby Locke (baseball)

"For the former golfer, see: Bobby Locke"

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=darkblue
bgcolor2=maroon
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=Bobby Locke
position=Pitcher
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1934|3|3|
debutdate=June 18
debutyear=by|1959
debutteam=Cleveland Indians
finaldate=September 29
finalyear=by|1968
finalteam=California Angels
stat1label=ERA
stat1value=4.02
stat2label=Record
stat2value=16-15
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=194
teams=
* Cleveland Indians (1959-1961)
* St. Louis Cardinals (1962)
* Philadelphia Phillies (1962-1964)
* Cincinnati Reds (1965)
* California Angels (1967-1968)
highlights=
* Hit home run in first Major League game

Lawrence Donald "Bobby" Locke (Born March 3, 1934 in Rowes Run, Pennsylvania) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1959 to 1968 for the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and California Angels. He stood 5'11" tall and weighed 185 pounds. He was sometimes called Larry.

Major League career

Locke was signed originally by the Indians as an amateur free agent in 1953. He made his big league debut with them at the age of 25 on June 18, 1959 against the Boston Red Sox. He didn't do too well in his debut, going five and two thirds innings, walking four and surrendering five hits, including two home runs. All told, he gave up five earned runs, but still managed to walk away with the no-decision.

Locke hit the first and only home run of his career in the first game of his career. Although he grounded out in his first at-bat, he belted a three run home run in his second at-bat off of pitcher Frank Sullivan.

Overall that year, he did very well. He posted a solid 3.13 ERA 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 mediocre 3-5 record, even though he ERA was a fairly low 3.37. He started 11 of the 32 games he appeared in and struck out 53 batters in 123 innings of work. He completed the only two games of his career that year as well. Both of them were shutouts.

Compared to his previous two seasons, Locke did poorly in 1961, posting a 4.53 ERA while giving up 112 hits in 95 1/3 innings of work. He walked 40 batters and struck out only 37 and posted a 4-4 record. One can say that his career entered a downward spiral in 1961.

After the 1961 season, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Jerry Kindall. He never actually got to play in a Cubs uniform though, as he was traded right before the 1962 season to the Cardinals for minor leaguer Al Herring.

He started the 1962 season in a Cardinals uniform, but after only one game with them he was traded away to Phillies for Don Ferrarese. He pitched in only six games between those two teams, posting an ERA of 5.09 with 12 walks and 10 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings of work.

He would end up spending parts of the next two seasons as a reliever with the Phillies, appearing in nine games in 1963 and 8 games in 1964. He posted ERAs of 5.91 and 2.79 respectively, winning zero games and losing zero games as well.

After the 1964 season, he was purchased by the Angels, but did not appear in a big league uniform with them that year. In July 1965, he was traded to the Reds for Jim Coates and a player to be named later, although the player to be named later was never determined. He posted a poor 5.71 ERA in 1965, appearing in 11 games for the Reds.

He was repurchased by the Angels in June 1966, although he didn't appear in a single Major League game that year. He did appear in nine games in 1967, however. He started his first game since 1961 that year, and overall he went 3-0 with a 2.33 on the season.

1968 would he his final season, ending his career on a sour note. Even though 1968 was considered "the year of the pitcher", Locke still managed to post a 6.44 ERA in 29 games for the Angels.

He played his final game on September 29, 1968.

Totals

Overall, Locke posted a 16-15 record in 165 games. In 416 2/3 innings pitched, he walked 165 batters and struck out 194 while allowing 432 hits. He was a solid batter in his career, collecting 25 hits in 98 at-bats for .255 career batting average. The three extra base hits he collected in his career - two doubles and a home run - were all collected in his first two big league seasons. As a fielder, he posted a .968 fielding percentage.

Other information

* Statistically speaking, Locke is most similar to John Boozer according to [http://www.baseball-reference.com Baseball-Reference] .
* The batter that faced Locke the most in his career was Al Kaline. In 24 at-bats against Locke, Kaline hit .292.
* The first hit he gave up was to Vic Wertz in the first inning of Locke's first game. Locke gave up his first career home run to Wertz a few innings later in that same game.
* He was a hairstylist at one point. [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Larry_Locke_1934]

References

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/l/lockebo01.shtml Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Larry_Locke_1934 Baseball Library]