Born in Waco, Texas, the Padres made him the fifth player taken overall in the June 1978 draft. Hawkins came into his own during the 1984 postseason, when he posted a 0.57 ERA, then reeled off a club record 11 consecutive wins at the start of 1985. Not overpowering despite his size, he has learned to pitch more aggressively since the days former manager Dick Williams labeled him 'a pussycat.'"
-Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1989 Edition
"Talk about pressure! Andy Hawkins left the safe confines of San Diego, where he pitched six-plus carefree years to join the pitching staff of the New York Yankees in 1989. Much will be expected of this 29-year-old right-hander, who won 18 games for the Padres in 1985 and 14 last year. Hawkins is not only in the starting rotation, he's already slated as the No. 1 starter.
An ex-teammate of former Yankee Ed Whitson, who fled to the Padres, Hawkins knows the pressure involved with the position and is ready for the challenge. 'Being the anchor of the staff is something I've always looked forward to, and it's a great opportunity to get that chance in New York,' Hawkins added.
Andy showed what he can do in the clutch by posting a 0.75 ERA for the Padres during the 1984 World Series, and now he wants to continue that success with the Yankees this October."
-The New York Yankees Official 1989 Yearbook
"Hawkins was signed by the Yankees as a free agent to a three-year contract on December 8, 1988 after spending his previous six-plus seasons in the major leagues as a member of the San Diego Padres.
In 1988, Hawkins posted a record of 14-11 with a 3.35 ERA in 33 games (all starts). He had four complete games (two shutouts) and had 76 walks and 91 strikeouts [and a 1.25 WHIP] in 217.2 innings pitched. His 14 wins tied for the second highest total on the Padres and was the second highest single-season total of his career, and his 217.2 IP was the second highest figure on the team.Andy had the single best day of his career on April 24 at San Diego, tossing a 1-hitter against Houston and winning 3-0, with the only hit being a single by Bill Doran to lead off the seventh inning. His other shutout came on May 31 at Philadelphia, tossing a 4-hitter in the Padres' 8-0 win.
After starting the season with a loss, Andy posted wins in each of his next three decisions, covering four starts from April 12-29 (including his 1-hitter), going 3-0 with a 3.25 ERA (10 ER, 27.2 IP). He had another three-game winning streak, covering three starts from June 20-July 1, going 3-0 with a 0.76 ERA (2 ER, 23.2 IP) in that span. The third game of that stretch, July 1 against St. Louis, was a 3-hit complete game, with Hawkins winning 5-1. At the All-Star break, he was 8-7 with a 3.12 ERA (41 ER, 118.1 IP) in 18 starts.
In his first start after the break, on July 14 at St. Louis, Hawkins pitched his fourth complete game, winning 3-1. He lost three of his next four decisions, covering six starts from July 19-August 15, going 1-3 with a 4.60 ERA (23 ER, 45 IP), but won his next four starts, August 21-September 7, his longest winning streak of the year, going 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA (6 ER, 28.1 IP).
He finished the season by pitching ten shutout innings on September 28 against Los Angeles, allowing just four hits, but receiving a no-decision in the Padres' 16-inning, 2-1 win as Orel Hershiser also pitched ten scoreless innings to set the major league record of 59 consecutive scoreless innings pitched.
Hawkins pitched six innings or more in 26 of his 33 starts and pitched seven innings in 16 of those starts. He had a high of five walks on August 31 at New York and a high of six strikeouts three times (April 17 against San Francisco, May 15 against Montreal, September 28 against Los Angeles). Overall in his six-plus years with the Padres, he was 60-58 with a 3.84 ERA.
The 1984 season saw Andy split his time between the starting rotation and the bullpen, with 22 of his 36 outings coming as a starter, including his first 14. He was a sub-.500 pitcher (8-9) during the regular season, but in the postseason allowed only one earned run and four hits in 15.2 innings pitched for a 0.57 ERA, making three appearances in both the NLCS and the World Series.
Andy held the Cubs hitless for 3.2 innings of relief work, then followed that with 12 innings of four-hit ball against Detroit. He was the winning pitcher in San Diego's only World Series triumph, going 5.1 innings and allowing only one hit in Game 2 on October 10 in San Diego.
He led the Padres with a career-best 18 wins in 1985, including a season-opening 11-0 mark. Hawkins became the first National League pitcher to open a season with that many wins since Roy Face was 17-0 in 1959, and the first pitcher in the majors to start with so many wins since Ron Guidry was 13-0 to begin 1978. He shattered the Padres record for consecutive wins by a starter (Tim Lollar's 5-0 mark in 1982) and also surpassed Butch Metzger's 10-0 ledger as a reliever at the outset of 1976. Of Hawkins' 11 wins, 10 came in as many starts to open the campaign.
Hawkins was named National League Pitcher of the Month for May, going 6-0 with a 2.72 ERA. He had his streak broken at Dodger Stadium on June 19 in a 5-1 loss. It marked one of only two road losses all season, as Hawkins won eight of ten away from home.
He missed two starts at mid-season due to a circulatory problem in his index finger. Both of his shutouts came on the road in August, 6-0 at Atlanta and 3-0 at Montreal.
The 18 victories were the most by a San Diego pitcher since Gaylord Perry won 21 in 1978. He surpassed his three-year big league total of 15 wins entering the '85 season.
His best stretch of 1986 came from June 3-16 when he was 2-0 in four outings (5 ER, 22.2 IP). After compiling a 9-8 record through August 19, Andy went nine consecutive outings (eight starts) without a decision. Finally, on the last day of the season, he won at Cincinnati to finish at 10-8.
Andy never won or lost more than two games in a row in '86. He led the staff in starts (35), innings (209.1) and strikeouts (117).
In 1987 he was plagued with an injured shoulder throughout most of the season, missing nearly two months of action. Hawkins started the year by dropping five straight decisions before finally beating the Phillies 6-5 on May 17 in Philadelphia. He won his next start on May 22 against Montreal, but would win only one other game all season, on June 13 at San Francisco; only once did he go beyond six innings after May 22. Late in June he was forced to miss a couple days between starts due to some tenderness in his shoulder, then made only three starts in July.
Hawkins was placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 29 after being diagnosed with tendinitis in his right shoulder. He was activated on September 1 but did not see any action until a two-inning relief stint on September 15. He managed only five appearances (one start) after returning to the active roster.
Signed as a first round choice in the June 1978 draft, Hawkins was the fifth player taken overall in the draft, behind Bob Horner, Lloyd Moseby, Hubie Brooks and Mike Morgan. He compiled a record of 8-3 with a 2.12 ERA in 14 starts (along with five complete games) in his first pro season, at Walla Walla in the Northwest League.
In 1979 Hawkins had the only sub-.500 minor league season of his career, going 8-13 with a 5.60 ERA with Reno. He made 27 starts, with seven complete games. 1980 was his second straight year in Reno and he improved his California League numbers from the '79 season. Used exclusively as a starter, he was 13-10 with a 4.26 ERA with 10 complete games in 26 starts.
Andy pitched for Amarillo (AA) in 1981 and led the Texas League in starts (27) and complete games (14). Already established as a durable pitcher, the complete game total gave him 36 complete games in only four pro seasons. Andy started 1982 in AAA with Hawaii. He was 9-7 with a 2.17 ERA while starting for the Islanders, with 10 complete games and a Pacific Coast League leading six shutouts in 16 starts.
He was recalled by the Padres on July 15 and made his major league debut two days later against Montreal. He got his first big league win on July 23 in his next outing, a 7-hit 11-4 win over the Mets in San Diego.
Andy opened the 1983 season with AAA Las Vegas but was recalled by San Diego less than a month later. On May 20 he tossed his first career shutout, besting the Phillies and Steve Carlton 5-0 with a 5-hitter. Andy was sent back to the Stars in late June where he remained until late August.
Upon his return to San Diego, he tossed a 4-hitter in an 8-2 win over the Reds. He closed out the season with a 4-1 triumph over Los Angeles in which he set a career high with ten strikeouts.
Andy has spent a couple seasons as co-chairman of the San Diego March of Dimes Walk America. He enjoys hunting, fishing and watching the Dallas Cowboys."
-1989 New York Yankees Information Guide
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