Drew Locke enjoyed playing in Texas so much that he is coming back to the Lone Star state for the 2012 baseball season. Locke, who will turn 29 on February 28, has signed on to play for Sugar Land’s new independent league team, the Skeeters. Although he grew up in Boston, the outfielder is familiar with baseball in Texas. He played for Houston’s affiliates in Round Rock in 2010 and Corpus Christi in 2009.
Locke met Josh Pressley- who was the first player signed by the Skeeters’ franchise earlier this off-season- during the Astros’ Spring Training in 2009. After signing with the Skeeters, Pressley started recruiting Locke to join him on the Atlantic League franchise’s roster. Locke said, “I wasn’t getting offers for affiliated ball, so I started thinking about what I was going to do. I contacted the team, and they were interested in signing me.”
Despite the lack of offers to play in affiliated baseball, Locke believes he still has what it takes to play in the majors. “If I have to start the year in Sugar Land to prove it, that's what I have to do,” said Locke. A roster spot in the Atlantic League, generally regarded as the top league in indepdent baseball, will provide Locke an ideal opportunity to display his abilities to big league scouts.
As for what Skeeters fans will see from Locke in 2012, he is “going to hit and knock in runs,” which he has “done his whole career”. In three seasons as part of the Houston organization (he spent 2011 in Oklahoma City), Locke played 389 games and batted .297 with a .485 slugging percentage. He totaled 93 doubles, 48 home runs and 241 RBI in those three seasons. In 2009, he was the Hooks MVP, batting a league-leading .338 with 20 home runs and 109 RBI. Locke said, “I come to the park ready to play everyday, and I have a lot of fun on the field. And I definitely have something to prove!”
Ironically, signing with a team in Texas gives Locke a chance to play close to his New England home for the first time since he wrapped up his collegiate career at Boston College in 2005. On the Skeeters’ trips to Connecticut and New Jersey, Locke will be playing within driving distance of numerous family members in Massachusetts. He indicated that he had a chance to sign closer to home; however, he believes “this is the team to be on this year. I feel comfortable playing in the state of Texas, and the weather is definitely nicer in the beginning of the season.”
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