LaTroy Hawkins

LaTroy Hawkins (born December 21, 1972) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. In his 21-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York Mets, and Toronto Blue Jays. At the time of his retirement, Hawkins was the only active player to be a member of the 1,000-games-pitched club, and at 42 years of age, was the oldest active player in MLB.

Amateur career

Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Hawkins attended West Side High School. Aside from baseball, Hawkins also competed in basketball and football.^[1]

Professional career

Minnesota Twins (1995–2003)

Hawkins was drafted straight out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in the 1991 amateur draft, and spent the next four years in the Twins' minor league system. His major league debut early in the 1995 season was a disastrous start against the Baltimore Orioles, where he gave up seven earned runs in only an inning and two thirds of work. During his brief stint in the Majors during 1995, Hawkins made 6 starts with a 2–3 record and an 8.67 ERA. Hawkins bounced between the big league club and Salt Lake of the PCL between 1996 and 1997, compiling a 7–13 record in those years.

By the 1998 season, Hawkins was inserted into the Twins rotation. He led the team with 33 starts but also led the team in most runs allowed (126), walks (70) and the worst WHIP among Twins starters (1.53). He was the opposing starting pitcher during the perfect game by Yankees pitcher David Wells on May 17, 1998.

In 1999, Hawkins suffered one of the worst statistical season in the majors and in his career. His 6.66 ERA was the worst in the Majors among starters with at least 30 starts. He was tied with Brad Radke for most losses on the team and allowed the most home runs on the pitching staff.

By the year 2000, Hawkins was in the Twins bullpen, appearing in 66 games while sporting an ERA of 3.39 along with 14 saves.

2001 saw Hawkins revert to poorness, having one of the worst statistical seasons for a closer in the history of the MLB. He led the Twins in saves (28) but he had 5.96 ERA while having a WHIP of 1.91 in 61 games.

Hawkins rebounded the next two seasons, combining to pitch in 139 games while being replaced as closer by Eddie Guardado. He also had ERA's of 2.13 and 1.86 respectively.

Hawkins became a free agent after the 2003 season.

Chicago Cubs (2004–2005)

Hawkins drew interest from a number of teams before signing a three-year, $11 million deal with the Chicago Cubs after the 2003 season. Hawkins was signed by the Cubs to pitch the 8th inning to set up for Joe Borowski, but Borowski went down with an injury early in the season, and Hawkins took over closing duties. On September 11, Hawkins struck out the side on only nine pitches in a game against the Florida Marlins. Despite a better-than-average ERA of 2.63 on the year and 25 saves, Hawkins blew 9 saves on the year, including two during a late-September skid that cost the Cubs the wild card. These blown saves earned him the ire of Cubs fans, who made a habit of booing him loudly at Wrigley Field when he came on in relief.

Hawkins appeared in 21 games for the Cubs in 2005 before being traded to the Giants. When Hawkins came back in 2005 as a member of the San Francisco Giants the Cub fans chanted "Hawkins Sucks!" which angered then manager Dusty Baker and first baseman Derrek Lee.

San Francisco Giants (2005)

On May 28, 2005 the Cubs traded Hawkins to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitchers Jerome Williams and David Aardsma. Upon arrival in San Francisco, Hawkins was initially converted back into a set-up role, with the team cautiously optimistic about a return to form. However, Hawkins only showed brief flashes of his previous ability en route to a league-average performance for the Giants.

Between the Cubs & Giants, Hawkins 2005 record was 2–8 in 66 games. He had more hits than innings pitched while having a WHIP of 1.46.

Baltimore Orioles (2006)

Hawkins during his tenure with the Baltimore Orioles in 2006

Following the 2005 season, Hawkins was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for left-handed reliever Steve Kline. He spent one season with the Orioles, going 3–2 with a 4.48 ERA in 60 games. He became a free agent after the season.

Colorado Rockies (2007)

On December 5, 2006, Hawkins signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract with the Colorado Rockies. On July 8, 2007, Hawkins was the only Colorado player to help the groundskeepers and the entire Philadelphia ballclub with the tarp during a heavy storm in Denver.^[2] Despite pitching in the hitter-friendly Coors Field, he posted a 3.42 ERA in 62 appearances, including a scoreless 7th inning in the wild card playoff against San Diego. Hawkins gave up only one run and two hits in five innings of postseason work for the National League champions. Hawkins was part of the Rockies team that went to the World Series for the first time ever but ended up losing the series to the Boston Red Sox after only 4 games.

New York Yankees (2008)

On December 9, 2007, Hawkins signed a one-year contract with the New York Yankees, reportedly worth $3.75 million. He became the first player since outfielder Paul O'Neill to wear the jersey number 21 for the Yankees. ^[3] However, after returning from a road trip on April 16, he changed his number to 22 in response to the fans' booing, yelling, and calling O'Neill's name when he took the field.^[4]

Hawkins pitching for the New York Yankees in 2008

On May 20, 2008, during a game vs. the Baltimore Orioles, Hawkins threw a head-high pitch over left fielder Luke Scott. Hawkins was ejected by home plate umpire Chuck Meriwether and Scott accused him for throwing the ball over his head. Hawkins was suspended for 3 games and fined an undisclosed amount.^[5]

Hawkins was designated for assignment on July 26. During his time with the Yankees in 2008, Hawkins made 33 relief appearances going 1–1 with a 5.71 ERA.

Houston Astros (2008–2009)

On July 30, 2008 the Houston Astros acquired Hawkins from the Yankees for minor leaguer Matt Cusick.^[6] Hawkins was an integral part of the Astros' late-season run, pitching 21 innings out of the bullpen and allowing just one earned run over that span (good for an ERA of 0.43). Hawkins signed a 1-year deal with the Astros to return for the 2009 season.^[7]

Hawkins continued his success in Houston, sporting an ERA of 2.13 in 65 games, the lowest ERA he had since 2003. He also saved 11 games. After the 2009 season, Hawkins left as a free agent.

Milwaukee Brewers (2010–2011)

On December 16, 2009, Hawkins signed a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers for 2 years and $7.5 million.^[8]

In 2010, he was 0–3 while only appearing in 18 games due to injury.^[9]

In 2011, he was 3–1 with a 2.42 ERA in 52 games.^[10] Through 2011, he was third of all active pitchers in career games pitched (823) behind Arthur Rhodes and Mariano Rivera.^[10]

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2012)

The Angels and LaTroy Hawkins agreed to terms on a one-year contract for the 2012 season.^[11] Hawkins earned three million dollars, going 2–3 with a 3.64 ERA.

New York Mets (2013)

Hawkins with the New York Mets in 2013

LaTroy Hawkins signed a minor league deal with invitation to spring training with New York Mets on January 31, 2013. He ended up making the team, pitching in 72 games and ending the season with a 3–2 record and 13 saves (his most since 2004 with the Cubs) with a 2.93 ERA.

Second stint with the Colorado Rockies (2014–2015)

Hawkins signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract to return to the Colorado Rockies on November 19, 2013, pending a physical.^[12] The contract became official on November 22, 2013.^[13]

Hawkins was named the Rockies' closer for the 2014 season and finished the year with a 3.31 ERA and 23 saves in 26 opportunities. On September 27, 2014, Hawkins made his 1,000th career appearance in a game the Los Angeles Dodgers and promptly got Darwin Barney to fly out to right field.

On December 12, 2014, Hawkins announced that 2015 would be his last season in the MLB during an interview on MLB Network. He struggled out of the gates in 2015, pitching to a 10.50 ERA in 7 games and recording only one save before heading to the disabled list. Shortly before his injury, Adam Ottavino replaced him as the closer.

Toronto Blue Jays (2015)

On July 28, 2015, Hawkins and teammate Troy Tulowitzki were traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for José Reyes, Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro, and Jesus Tinoco.^[14] On August 5, Hawkins became the 13th player in MLB history to record a save against all 30 teams, closing out a 9–7 win over the Minnesota Twins.^[15] He also surpassed Darren Oliver as the oldest Blue Jay to record a save.^[16] Hawkins made 18 regular season appearances for the Blue Jays, pitching to a 1–0 record, 2.76 ERA, and 14 strikeouts in 16 ¹⁄₃ innings.^[10]

On October 25, Hawkins announced his retirement.^[17]

Coaching

On November 20, 2016, Hawkins was hired as a special assistant to the Minnesota Twins organization.^[18]

Personal life

Hawkins is good friends with former MLB outfielder Torii Hunter, as the two were teammates in Minnesota.^[1]

See also

• List of Major League Baseball pitchers who have struck out three batters on nine pitches

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to LaTroy Hawkins.

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• LaTroy Hawkins on Twitter