Bob Locker
| Bob Locker | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | |||
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Born: March 15, 1938 George, Iowa |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 14, 1965, for the Chicago White Sox | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| June 20, 1975, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 57–39 | ||
| Earned run average | 2.75 | ||
| Strikeouts | 577 | ||
| Saves | 95 | ||
| Teams | |||
Robert Awtry Locker (born March 15, 1938 in George, Iowa) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1965 to 1975 for five different teams. The sinker-balling Locker never made a start in his big-league career.
Locker graduated from George High School in 1956, where he played baseball and basketball. He enrolled at Iowa State University, and made the varsity team in both sports. Locker graduated from ISU in 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree in geology. After graduation, he signed his first professional baseball contract, with the Chicago White Sox.
Locker began his professional career in 1960 at Idaho Falls, appearing in a handful of games. The next year, he made 33 starts, winning 15 games, pitching 228 innings and leading the Three-I league with 215 strikeouts.
Locker missed the next two seasons due to military service. He returned to baseball in 1964, and winning 16 games for Indianapolis. It would be his last year in the minors.
At age 27, Bob Locker had made the big leagues, joining a bullpen that featured knuckleballers Hoyt Wilhelm and Eddie Fisher. He made his debut in Baltimore on April 14, 1965, tossing two innings and giving up three runs. Locker settled down, however, and in a stretch from May 30 to June 20—10 total appearances—he was unscored upon. He would finish his rookie campaign with 93⅓ innings pitched and a 3.15 earned-run average.
During his time in Chicago, Locker was the most often-used reliever. He appeared in 77 games in 1967 and 70 games in 1968. In 1969, Locker got off to a rough start (2–3 record, 6.55 ERA), and on June 8, the White Sox shipped him to the expansion Seattle Pilots for Gary Bell.
Upon arriving in Seattle, the 31-year-old Locker began a reversal of fortune, posting a 2.18 ERA for an expansion team that would finish in last place in the division. He finished the season with a flourish, allowing just eight runs in his last 30 appearances on the season.
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