The Hawk - LaTroy Hawkins

“I became very comfortable in uncomfortable situations”

This week’s Moonlighter filled a critical role for 11 different major league teams over the course of a 21-year professional career. With that many years under his belt, LaTroy Hawkins had to evolve as a player and adapt to his role on the team a few different times. This interview covers the range of his career and his perspective on what the major league game is like now over 30 years after he was drafted.

The Hawk quickly progressed through the minors as a member of the Twins organization after being drafted out of high school in 1991. His first major league start came in August of 1995 was a 1⅓ inning wake up call for him though. That bumpy start sent him back to the minors for a month before returning to get his first win against the Royals in September. After 6 starts in that rookie season, he earned a spot in the Twins’ starting rotation for the 1996 season. LaTroy Hawkins was a starter for the first 9 years of his professional career including the 1995-1999 seasons in the majors. Hawkins started 99 games total in his major league career; all of them coming before the 2000 season. 

After a rough 1999 season as a starter, Hawkins found his place in the bullpen. He took his ‘demotion’ as a positive. That transition really launched the second phase of his career. After having zero saves in his career on the mound, Hawkins picked up all 14 opportunities he had in the 2000 season. The next few seasons called on the Hawk to play a few different roles in the bullpen as he shared the closer role with Everyday Eddy Guardado and served as the setup man. His next stop took him back home to serve as the setup man and then closer for the Cubs. Over the next decade, Hawkins came out of the bullpen for the Giants, Orioles, Rockies, Angels, Brewers, Astros, Mets, and Bluejays.  

In total, LaTroy Hawkins pitched in 1,042 games, which is tied for 10th all-time. He was the 13th player to ever record a save against all 30 big league teams.  Hawkins continued to be productive into his 40s in spite of battling through injuries and moving around the league. In fact, at the end of his career he was the oldest active pitcher in the league.

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