Gary McDonald - Interview with Skip Lockwood

I recently interviewed former NY Mets closer Skip Lockwood,on my podcast MetsMusings Skip, has a new book out and was happy to discuss it with me.  Here is an excerpt of that interview. 

MM: My guest tonight he is a former relief pitcher

for the New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Milwaukee Brewers, he

even played for the Seattle Pilots and

his name is Skip Lockwood and he's got a

brand new book out called" Insight Pitch:

My Life as a Major League Closer" and

He's here tonight.Skip thanks so much

for coming on Mets Musings.

Skip Lockwood: Great  to be back

this close to New York again.

I remember New York very very kindly

We had wonderful years there , we had a house in

Greenwich and Tom Seaver was my ride to

the ball park. we had friends, we

just had a blast, I enjoyed  playing at Shea

Stadium. I pitched okay and I got a

chance to pitch in important games.

I just love New York and I'm in many

many cases I I wished I had still stuck

around I miss it.  I miss New York, I miss the people, Broadway.

MM:You had a short but a very

nice career here in New York and not a

bad ride to the ballpark coming in with

Tom Seaver.

Lockwood: Now Gary, you know Tom was

very instrumental.  I think a lot of

players that played with Tom will tell

you the same he was a guy that you know

got up on your grill, yeah and he was

a guy that could teach, he was a guy

who was thinking very

clearly about the psychological

components of the game I think he was

way ahead of his time in preparation

physically and emotionally mentally for

every game. He really left no stone

unturned, you know he went to the to the

ballpark every single day with purpose

in mind. Everything he did seemed like it

was designed to help him pitch better, to

help them think about pitching better,

he was really a mentor for me, and very

inspirational in many many different ways I

 enjoyed being around him. All I had to do

is listen, sometimes he was confrontational sometimes with me he was

a guy that  was a clear leader for me and a guy that I thought influenced my career an awful lot.

MM:Now in your book you

speak about how you prepared for a game

and you did a lot of a

mental imaging can you speak a little bit about

that and how you got into that?

Lockwood:Yes, the book is an attempt to be authentic. What

I tried to do is write the book, and I

wrote every word of the book myself, I

try to speak as if I was taking you with

me out on the mound, you and I are

throwing the pitch, you're inside the

uniform you're gripping the ball, you're feeling what it's like to be out there. I try to be honest and I try to

you know do with a sense of humility but

I wanted people to, just like you would

ask somebody if you're at a bar.

So the book was an attempt to

take you with me on my journey. Part of

my journey was good and part of it

was great that the part that was good

was in Milwaukee and in California

that's okay.

I was a starting pitcher for the Brewers and had

some pretty good games but I never I

never really turned it into something

that I could count on something that was

repeatable. I really didn't know why I

was pitching well and then I started to

uncover ways to relax and visualize what

was going to happen on the on the mound

and use that visualization as a tool

very specific very detailed I was very

much in tune with how the movie was

going to play.

I saw me pitching and I would watch the movie,

me pitching before I would ever go out

and pitch the game it was something that

I prepared every day.

I prepared every pitch it was I saw Tom

do it and I saw how he did it and I

tried to learn from him I tried to learn

his techniques.

If you wish to hear the entire interview go to metsmusings.com episode #317.