Andy Hawkins

Infobox MLB retired
name=Andy Hawkins
position=Pitcher
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1960|1|21
debutdate=July 17
debutyear=1982
debutteam=San Diego Padres
finaldate=August 4
finalyear=1991
finalteam=Oakland Athletics
stat1label=Record
stat1value=84-91
stat2label=Strikeouts
stat2value=706
stat3label=ERA
stat3value=4.22
teams =
*San Diego Padres (by|1982-by|1988)
*New York Yankees (by|1989-by|1991)
*Oakland Athletics (by|1991)
highlights =
*Winning pitcher in game 2 of the 1984 World Series
*Pitched an unofficial no-hitter in 1990

Melton Andrew "Andy" Hawkins (born January 21, 1960 in Waco, Texas) is a former major-league pitcher. A right-handed starter, Hawkins spent most of his career with the San Diego Padres, and also played for the New York Yankees and briefly for the Oakland Athletics. He is currently the pitching coach of the Texas Rangers, having been promoted from the same position with the Oklahoma RedHawks following the firing of previous Rangers pitching coach Mark Connor [cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/08/02/bc.bba.rangers.firedcoa.ap/index.html|title=Rangers dismiss pitching coach and bullpen coach|date=2008-08-01|accessdate=2008-08-02] .

He is known for being the first (and thus far, the only) San Diego Padres pitcher to win a World Series game. Hawkins earned a victory pitching in relief in Game 2 of the 1984 World Series, which the Padres lost to Detroit in five games. His best season was 1985, when he threw a career-high 228 2/3 innings, compiled an 18-8 record, (winning his first 10 starts) and finished with a 3.15 ERA. Hawkins is the only pitcher to win his first 10 starts since the advent of divisional play in Major League Baseball which started in 1969. In 3 career starts at Fenway Park, Hawkins managed a total of just one inning, giving up 18 earned runs in those starts.

Unusual no-hitter

On July 1, 1990, Hawkins pitched a no-hitter for the Yankees against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park but lost the game. Hawkins dominated the White Sox into the eighth inning, where he retired the first two batters. After that, Sammy Sosa reached on a throwing error by Yankees third baseman Mike Blowers. Hawkins then walked the next two batters. That brought up Robin Ventura, who lofted a fly ball to left field. The blustery winds buffeted the ball, and rookie Jim Leyritz, normally a third baseman, booted it, allowing all three baserunners to score. The next batter, Ivan Calderón, hit a fly ball to right field, which was lost in the sun and dropped by Jesse Barfield, allowing Ventura to score. The final count for the inning was four runs, no hits, three errors. The Yankees, who had not scored all game, were unable to score in the 9th inning, giving Hawkins the loss.

The 4-0 loss was the largest margin of a no-hitter loss in the 20th century, and Hawkins became the first Yankees pitcher to lose a no-hitter. On September 4, 1991 the Committee for Statistical Accuracy, appointed by Commissioner Fay Vincent, changed the definition of a no-hitter to require that a pitcher throw at least nine full innings and a complete game. Since Hawkins played for the visiting team, the White Sox never batted in the ninth inning and Hawkins lost the credit for a no-hitter.

A high-priced free agent in the second year of a three-year deal, Hawkins struggled for a poor Yankees team in 1990. On May 8, with just one win and an ERA of 8.56, Hawkins was offered his outright release, which he accepted. But an injury that night to pitcher Mike Witt changed his mind. Hawkins pitched much better in his next three starts, although he still had only a 1-4 record prior to the no-hitter.

In his next appearance, he faced the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium in the opening game of a doubleheader. Hawkins pitched a shutout into the twelfth inning but wound up losing 2-0. In his following appearance, the Yankees lost a six-inning no-hitter to Melido Perez and the White Sox. white sox have curse

References

External links

*baseball-reference|id=h/hawkian01