Any Means Necessary

Lisa Johnson
Sep 1, 2018 · 5 min read

Reaching Base Often Involves Getting Hit By Pitch for the Dodgers’ Tim Locastro

Tim Locastro leads the PCL with 26 hit by pitches this season, and paces the OKC Dodgers with 61 runs scored and 18 stolen bases. Photo by OKC Dodgers.

Bruises. Bumps. Cuts.

Time missed. Scars.

HBP’s.

Tim Locastro knows all too well the consequences that stem from being struck by baseballs traveling at high speeds.

He has a lot of experience.

Locastro leads the Pacific Coast League with 26 hit by pitches (HBP’s) this season, including an incredible 18 times in August.

“They all hurt,” Locastro said. “But you get the adrenaline going and you’re on base instead of going back to the dugout, so that’s the most important thing. Once you are on base you have a chance to score the run for the team, so that’s what I try to do.”

Locastro is the first Pacific Coast League player to record more than 22 hit by pitches in a season since Tucson’s Carlos Quentin set the league record of 31 in 2006.

Locastro, 26, has actually been hit a total of 29 times this season including his time with Oklahoma City, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona League Dodgers. He was even hit by pitch three times in a May 25 game at Nashville to set the PCL single-game record and plunked in five straight games Aug. 22–26.

Locastro has now been hit by pitch more than 25 times in five consecutive professional seasons.

“It’s sort of just been a thing that happens and I sort of accept it,” Locastro said. “Sometimes when you’re not feeling good at the plate and you can get on base by getting hit by pitch that’s all you need and then that gets you going. You’ve got to use it.”

That “getting on base by any means necessary” attitude has helped push the utility player up through the Dodgers system since being acquired in a 2015 trade with Toronto — making both his Triple-A and MLB debuts last season.

Locastro is in his second season with the OKC Dodgers. Photo by OKC Dodgers.

This season, he paces Oklahoma City with 61 runs scored and 18 stolen bases. He has 84 hits through 83 games with the Dodgers, including 23 doubles, two triples and four home runs with 25 RBI and 28 walks. His .389 on-base percentage ranks second among OKC players with more than 14 games played.

He has also played four different positions for Oklahoma City this season — first base, second base, left field and center field — and batted in the leadoff spot in 73 games.

“I think (my playing style is) a little unconventional, but I just try to grind it out, get on base and score runs,” Locastro said “I’ve been a top-of-the-lineup hitter for my whole life, top of the lineup or nine-hole. Basically get on base for the guys behind me and score runs. I started to embrace that role and that’s all I’m going to try to continue to do.”

Locastro was born in Syracuse, N.Y., and attended high school in Auburn, N.Y., before attending nearby Division III Ithaca College.

He played three seasons of baseball for the Bombers, culminating in All-America honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association and D3baseball.com during his junior season in 2013. He also was named Empire 8 Player of the Year and set program single-season records in runs (71) and stolen bases (40), while leading all NCAA Division III players in HBP’s (29) — also a school record.

Locastro said he maintains a similar playing style today.

“I’ve just tried to bring it into pro baseball and it’s been working,” Locastro said.

When he steps into the batter’s box, he brings visible energy — a trait he also carries off the field.

“I’m non-stop,” he said. “My girlfriend, my parents they say that; my friends. I can’t sit still. But I like it that way. I like always being on the go.”

Locastro made his MLB debut last season and has played in eight games with the Los Angeles Dodgers this season. Photo by OKC Dodgers.

Locastro was drafted by Toronto in the 13th round of the 2013 draft after his junior season — becoming the highest drafted Division III player that year. After being acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in a July 2015 trade, he was named a MiLB.com Organization All-Star for the Dodgers in 2016.

Locastro was named a Texas League Mid-Season All-Star with Double-A Tulsa before making his Triple-A debut in late June with Oklahoma City. He went on to bat .388 (40x103) in 31 games with OKC, including 10 doubles and a team-leading 12 stolen bases. From Aug. 1 on, he led all Triple-A players with a .400 batting average (36x90).

He headed home to New York following the end of Oklahoma City’s season in early September, but about three weeks later, the Los Angeles Dodgers selected his contract Sept. 29, 2017. He made his MLB debut that night as a pinch runner at Colorado and went on to appear in three games for the Dodgers against the Rockies.

Locastro started the 2018 season with Oklahoma City before being recalled by Los Angeles May 3 and appearing in eight MLB games. He recorded his first hits, scored his first run, and collected his first HBP in the Majors during the stint.

He was optioned to OKC in mid-May and later missed about one month with a stint on the disabled list due to a groin strain. He appeared in six games with the Arizona League Dodgers before returning to Oklahoma City in mid-July.

“It’s been kind of a crazy season,” Locastro said. “It’s gone by really quick.”

Locastro’s .389 on-base percentage ranks second among OKC players with more than 14 games played this season. Photo by OKC Dodgers.

He’s already been hit by pitch more than 150 times in his pro career and may add more before the end of 2018.

Although many of the wounds have healed, some have yet to leave his memory.

“One time I got hit in the arm guard that I wear and it hit so hard it like pinched my skin and cut my arm,” Locastro said. “One time…I got hit in the hamstring and had to miss some time…There’s been some bad ones.

“You sort of got to try to not let them hit you flush and sort of let them graze off you, but sometimes it’s not always that easy. It’s a lot more difficult than I make it sound.”

He knows more bumps, bruises and cuts are likely to come.

“I’ll never get used to it,” he said. “I just accept it.”

Beyond the Bricks

an inside look at the Oklahoma City Dodgers

Lisa Johnson

Written by

Communications Coordinator for the Oklahoma City Dodgers

Beyond the Bricks

an inside look at the Oklahoma City Dodgers

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