The Story of Baseball’s Greatest Hit Batsman, Told by His Mom

It is no secret that Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Tim Locastro has developed a reputation as one of baseball’s best hit batsmen. He got plunked 22 times in 250 MLB plate appearances in 2019, the highest rate in baseball (min. 50 plate appearances). Unfortunately — but not surprisingly — Locastro’s special talent understandably has his mom, Colleen, a tad worried.

“I’ll be honest with you, every time he gets up to bat I get a little bit nervous,” Colleen said. “I’m sure all the fans are saying, ‘Yes, get hit by a pitch!’ But as a mother, I just worry when he gets hit.”

Nonetheless, Colleen, who affectionately refers to her son as “Timmy,” has gotten used to it. His reputation as a baseball magnet dates back to when he played at Auburn High School, and she playfully blames both his high school and college coaches for helping him develop the skill. All concerns aside, Colleen is as proud of her son as anyone, and his willingness to take one for the team comes as no surprise.

“He knows how to take a pitch. I mean, if it’s coming inside, he’s not afraid of it,” she said. “Since he’s been three years old, he hasn’t really been afraid of anything.”

Colleen has the stories to prove it too — like when 2-year-old Timmy put his courage on display for all his friends to see at the Locastro family swimming pool.

“He would jump and slip off the diving board, like [just] as soon as he could walk,” she said. “All his friends would be hovered on the side. You know, they’d be scared to death to go in the pool.”

As Timmy grew older, nothing really changed.

“Timmy would ride his bike and he would crash into the tree in [my neighbor’s] front yard…just for the heck of it! There was no reason. He would ride full speed, crash into the tree, fall, get back up, and say, ‘I’m okay!'”

In light of Colleen’s anecdotes, it’s not hard to see why Timmy lacks the traditional human instinct to avoid a projectile traveling upwards of 95 miles per hour coming right for him.

Of course, Timmy’s unique talent as a player goes beyond playing the role of human magnet. His 30.8 foot per second sprint speed was the fastest mark recorded in all of baseball by Statcast last year. He also stole 17 bases with the D-backs in 2019 and was never caught.

He has [always] been fast,” Colleen said. “I know my mother takes credit for [that]. She used to race him to school in the morning.”

It was not long before Timmy developed a love for baseball. Colleen is reminded of “The Sandlot” when she thinks back to Timmy’s middle school days, when virtually all the kids in their upstate New York neighborhood would ride bikes to the nearest ball-field every night to get their hacks in.

“Their dream was always to go to Williamsport to be in the Little League World Series,” she said.

Timmy and his friends won regionals one year, but unfortunately, their Little League World Series dream never came true. Nonetheless, Timmy’s baseball career was just getting started.

In his junior year of high school, Timmy’s coaches recognized his talent and worked with him extensively to help him reach the next level. His high school coach was an Ithaca College alum, and that led to Timmy attending Ithaca himself several years later.

Ithaca still has a Division III baseball program to this day, but that didn’t stop Locastro from drawing the attention of scouts in his junior year in 2013. That year, he batted .436 with 13 doubles, six triples, four homers and an Ithaca single-season record 40 stolen bases.

When the MLB First-Year Player Draft came in June of that year, Timmy thought he had a shot of getting drafted around the 20th round or so. He wasn’t the first to hear the news when it broke.

“My husband came tearing up the stairs, yelling, ‘He’s a Blue Jay!'” Colleen recalled. “It turned into a huge party at our house that night.”

Locastro got drafted in the 13th round by the Toronto Blue Jays, and he officially signed his first professional contract on June 12, 2013. He was later traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in July of 2015, with whom he would make his MLB debut two years later. Colleen remembers the day of his call-up vividly.

It was late September of 2017, and Timmy’s minor league season ended several weeks prior. He was back home in Auburn, N.Y., painting the family basement to make some extra money. Suddenly, Timmy’s plans changed abruptly.

“I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The bad news is I can’t finish painting the basement,” Timmy told his parents.

“I knew it was going to be too much for you!” Colleen retorted.

“I’m going to the big leagues.”

Timmy’s family and friends frantically packed their things and called in sick to their respective jobs as they caught a redeye flight to Denver, where Timmy would make his MLB debut the next day. He appeared in all three games of the series in Denver, helping the Dodgers capped off a 104-win season.

Timmy’s career with the Dodgers spanned 2017 and 2018, but he only took a total of 15 MLB plate appearances in those years. In the winter of 2018, he was traded to the New York Yankees, and then to the Arizona Diamondbacks shortly after.

Locastro slashed .301/.394/.618 in a quick stint with Triple-A Reno in 2019, and ultimately spent most of his season with the major league club. His knack for getting on base by whatever means necessary and stealing bases has turned him into a valuable utility player who can play all three outfield positions. He is likely to make the roster once again as a backup outfielder, if and when the MLB season begins. His resiliency continues to trump his small beginnings.

“From a little town in central New York, not many kids make it,” Colleen said. “He’s like a town hero to everybody here.”

As a retired kindergarten teacher who still substitutes from time to time, Colleen enjoys having her celebrity son visit her classroom from time to time.

“He’s been coming into my kindergarten class for years. He’ll come in once or twice a year. [The kids are] just in awe when they see him,” she said.

Timmy doesn’t like the attention, Colleen says, but she doesn’t seem to mind it at all. Timmy’s success has turned Colleen and her husband, Tim, into local celebrities in their small hometown of Auburn, N.Y.

Their friends and neighbors are constantly asking about him, and it’s probably safe to say they have nothing but good things to report.

“He’s just a good kid. He has a big heart,” Colleen said. “He perseveres no matter what it is. He’s determined to get what he wants, and you know, that’s what he’s doing right now. He’s living his dream right now, and so are we.”