Sold/Skyhorse
Insight Pitch: My Life as a Major League Closer sports/memoir
Skip Lockwood
“Joining the Mets in mid-season, Skip quickly became the dependable ‘closer’ we needed. He and I had long conversations about exactly how to prepare for each game and what it meant to leave nothing to chance. As a result, he always pitched with intensity and mental toughness. I told him, ‘Every time you go cross over that foul line, it’s Green Light...it’s Go Time.’ In his new book he takes you with us, onto the field and into the action.”
--Tom Seaver, MLB Hall of Famer, friend, and teammate; author, The Art of Pitching
“Skippy, my boy. Great job on your new book. You’re still throwing strikes.”
--Luis Tiant, Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer and longtime friend
You're straddling the pitcher’s mound in Shea Stadium. The game rests in your hands. Your heart is pounding. Big money is at stake. You feel thousands of eyes burning your jersey as they wait for a pitch. You gulp at the air trying to settle your nerves. It's go time.
Insight Pitch is a sports story that spills over three decades. Retired Major League Baseball pitcher Skip Lockwood tells anecdotes from throughout his career as a ballplayer, starting with his days as a Little Leaguer through his professional tenure with the Kansas City Athletics, Seattle Pilots, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox, before his retirement in 1980. Along the way, he details both the on- and off-the-field shenanigans as well as the enormous psychological process that he underwent each and every time he took the mound.
Readers will marvel at stories featuring the legendary A's owner Charlie Finley, Hall of Famers Luke Appling, Satchel Paige, Catfish Hunter, and Yogi Berra, along with Olympic hero Jesse Owens and a host of ballplayers from the 1960s, '70s and '80s.
Humorous but insightful, this book makes the perfect addition to any baseball fan's shelf.
--Tom Seaver, MLB Hall of Famer, friend, and teammate; author, The Art of Pitching
“Skippy, my boy. Great job on your new book. You’re still throwing strikes.”
--Luis Tiant, Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer and longtime friend
You're straddling the pitcher’s mound in Shea Stadium. The game rests in your hands. Your heart is pounding. Big money is at stake. You feel thousands of eyes burning your jersey as they wait for a pitch. You gulp at the air trying to settle your nerves. It's go time.
Insight Pitch is a sports story that spills over three decades. Retired Major League Baseball pitcher Skip Lockwood tells anecdotes from throughout his career as a ballplayer, starting with his days as a Little Leaguer through his professional tenure with the Kansas City Athletics, Seattle Pilots, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox, before his retirement in 1980. Along the way, he details both the on- and off-the-field shenanigans as well as the enormous psychological process that he underwent each and every time he took the mound.
Readers will marvel at stories featuring the legendary A's owner Charlie Finley, Hall of Famers Luke Appling, Satchel Paige, Catfish Hunter, and Yogi Berra, along with Olympic hero Jesse Owens and a host of ballplayers from the 1960s, '70s and '80s.
Humorous but insightful, this book makes the perfect addition to any baseball fan's shelf.
About the Author
Skip Lockwood played professional baseball for over 18 years. With the Mets, he blossomed as their everyday closer, enjoying some of the best stats in team history: receiving the Rolaids Relief Awards three consecutive years. In 1975 season he was virtually unhittable, holding opposing hitter to a .186 BA and recording 108 strikeouts in 94 innings. According to Baseball-reference.com he was the hardest pitcher (with over 100 innings) to hit in ‘75 and ‘76. He is considered by many one of the most underrated pitchers in franchise history.
Lockwood holds an Masters Degree from the Sloan Fellows program at MIT. While in New York, he studied sports psychology in a doctoral program at Columbia University. After retiring from baseball he worked first as a sports psychotherapist and then focused on financial services, both as a bank President/CEO and a stockbroker. Today, he conducts on-the-field clinics for Red Sox and MLB.
Skip Lockwood played professional baseball for over 18 years. With the Mets, he blossomed as their everyday closer, enjoying some of the best stats in team history: receiving the Rolaids Relief Awards three consecutive years. In 1975 season he was virtually unhittable, holding opposing hitter to a .186 BA and recording 108 strikeouts in 94 innings. According to Baseball-reference.com he was the hardest pitcher (with over 100 innings) to hit in ‘75 and ‘76. He is considered by many one of the most underrated pitchers in franchise history.
Lockwood holds an Masters Degree from the Sloan Fellows program at MIT. While in New York, he studied sports psychology in a doctoral program at Columbia University. After retiring from baseball he worked first as a sports psychotherapist and then focused on financial services, both as a bank President/CEO and a stockbroker. Today, he conducts on-the-field clinics for Red Sox and MLB.
