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Ron Locke

Pitcher Ron Locke remembers Mets manager Casey Stengel

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Locke65Ron Locke knows he pitched for a Hall of Famer in 1964. However, did he think Mets skipper Casey Stengel was anything like the zany character reporters claimed?

Locke replied:

“I thought Casey was a great man. He liked young kids coming up from the minors. he liked talking to young ballplayers to see what they knew about the game.

“But as far as a manager, he thought he had the Yankees. He liked to drink booze and staying up late at night. He really didn’t tell you much about the game.

“He liked talking to sports writers. I think the reporters hit the nail on the head when talking about Casey.”

 

Mets pitcher Ron Locke was a real card: twice!

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Locke Ron 64I was delighted to hear from Ron Locke, a pitcher for the 1964 Mets.

Locke appeared on Topps cards in 1964 and ’65. I asked him about the experience. Did he remember details of the photos? Was cardboard immortality fun?

He replied:

“It’s what they tell you what poses they were going to take and what position they wanted you to do. It was a great feeling to even make the majors. But, when you have baseball cards, it was a great feeling to show your friends.”