Skip Lockwood
From The Met Wiki
Skip Lockwood was a Mets relief pitcher from 1975 to 1979. He recorded 65 saves in 227 appearances and posted a 2.80 earned run average. Lockwood had 24 wins and 368 strikeouts in his five seasons with the Mets.
Lockwood was obtained by the Mets on July 28, 1975. In ’75, he recorded his first win as a member of the team with five shutout innings as the Mets defeated the Padres, 8-4, on August 11 at Shea Stadium. On September 15, Skip got his first Mets save in a 3-2 win over the Expos at Shea.
In 1976, Lockwood led all Met pitchers with 56 games and 19 saves in becoming the team’s prime reliever. He recorded a save in a 3-2 season-opening win over the Expos on April 9 at Shea. In May, Skip successfully saved games in four consecutive appearances, two of which came against the defending World Champion Reds. In the seventh inning on May 4, he struck out Cincinnati’s Johnny Bench and Mike Lum with the bases loaded en route to a save in a 5-3 Mets victory. He struck out Bench again on May 6 with two runners on base in the eighth on his way to another save in the Mets' 4-2 win.
On June 17, Lockwood struck out six batters and picked up the win in the Mets’ 1-0 triumph over the Dodgers in 14 innings. He pitched two and two-thirds scoreless innings for the win in a 4-2 Mets victory in Atlanta on July 10. From August 5 to August 14, Skip once again recorded four saves in as many appearances, striking out a total of 10 batters in 7 innings. He also chalked up seven strikeouts in three innings in getting a save as the Mets beat the Pirates, 7-6, on September 19.
A talented hitter, Lockwood got 6 hits in 18 at bats for a .333 average in ’76. On July 4, he hit a two-run double in the Mets’ 9-4 win over the Cubs in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea.
Skip set a new Mets record with 63 games pitched in 1977. For the season, he had 4 wins and 20 saves with a 3.38 ERA. For the second straight year, Lockwood got a save in the season opening game as the Mets defeated the Cubs, 5-3, at Wrigley Field on April 7. At Shea on August 1, Skip had seven strikeouts on his way to a win in the Mets’ 8-7 triumph over the Dodgers in 12 innings. He retired all four batters he faced and got the win in the Mets' 2-1 triumph over the Astros at Shea on August 23. Lockwood recorded his 20th save of the season on September 12 in the Mets’ 4-3 win over the Expos at Shea.
Lockwood again led the Mets in games pitched (57) and saves (15) in 1978. He also had seven wins on the season, three of which came in consecutive appearances in May. Skip recorded the victory in the Mets’ 8-7 win over the Braves on May 18 and was the winning pitcher the following day as the Mets beat the Phillies, 4-3. On May 21, Lockwood got his third win in three games as the Mets defeated the Phils, 6-5, at Shea. In June, Skip repeated this feat with consecutive wins over the Dodgers (June 5), Giants (June 9) and Padres (June 13.) Also in ’78, Lockwood also pitched three innings for a save and hit a home run in the Mets’ 7-4 win in a doubleheader nightcap at Atlanta on July 17.
In 1979, Skip played his final season with the Mets. He pitched three shutout innings at Atlanta to record his last Mets save on June 3. Lockwood went on the disabled list with an injured shoulder on June 20 and missed the remainder of the season. Still, his 9 saves were enough to lead the team for the fourth year in a row.
Lockwood concluded his career with the Boston Red Sox in 1980.
