Sunday, July 29, 2018

1990 Profile: Andy Hawkins

"Streaky starter followed career pattern as .500 pitcher. The free agent signee won three straight from April 17-28, then dropped three in a row from May 3-14. His best month was July when he went 3-2 with a 2.39 ERA, three complete games and the first consecutive shutouts by a Yankee since Ron Guidry in 1985. Hawkins threw 23 [consecutive] scoreless innings during that stretch, the longest shutout string by a Yankee starter since Tom Underwood threw 24 2/3 blanks in 1980. He won only twice after August 5.
Hawkins believes he will be a much better pitcher in 1990 after getting his first season as a Yankee under his belt.
Born in Waco, Texas, he was the Padres' first-round pick in 1978, the fifth player taken overall. He allowed one run in 15 2/3 postseason innings for San Diego in 1984."

-Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1990 Edition

"These days you don't hear a lot about Andy Hawkins, which is just fine with him. The Yankee right-hander doesn't say much. And, despite his 6-2 frame, he prefers to blend into the crowd in the Yankee clubhouse.
This is also the way he likes to pitch. Just take the ball every fifth day, no big deal.
That was tough at first. When he came to the pitching-hungry Yankees as a free agent, he was immediately dubbed the anchor of the staff. It was a name he didn't want, not because he couldn't handle the responsibility, but because he didn't want the publicity. 'I don't like to talk about things, and I don't go for names like anchor,' he said. 'I prefer to just play the game, and let the numbers say who did what.'
The 1989 numbers showed that Hawkins led the team in nearly every pitching category, including consistency. Even so, we won't call the 30-year-old an anchor. We'll just let Andy Hawkins quietly continue to do the job for the Yankees."

-The New York Yankees Official 1990 Yearbook

"Hawkins started the 1989 season with two losses, allowing 15 earned runs over nine innings. In his next outing on April 17 at Toronto, he threw a complete game 5-hitter (the first Yankee complete game of the season), allowing two earned runs in a 7-2 win. He followed with wins at Cleveland (7.2 IP, 2 H, the only hits being singles by Jerry Browne and Luis Aguayo) and against Chicago to close out April. In his three wins, Hawkins compiled a 1.11 ERA, ending the month with a 3-2 record and 4.86 ERA.
On May 3 at Texas, Andy lost 4-1 as the Yankees were 2-hit by Kevin Brown, then lost his next two outings, compiling a three-game ERA of 9.93 to start the month. After a win on May 19 at Seattle he lost 4-0 on May 26 in New York against the A's as the Yankees were 1-hit by three A's pitchers. Andy ended the month beating Seattle and finished May with a 2-4 record and a 7.64 ERA, giving him a two-month record of 5-6 with a 6.29 ERA.
On June 5 against Baltimore he allowed 10 runs, all unearned, over 2.1 innings, dropping his ERA from 6.29 to 6.08. In back-to-back starts on June 11 and 16, Hawkins started the first games of twin bills (against Boston and Texas), won both and the Yankees swept both doubleheaders.
After a loss against Chicago, Hawkins had his best stretch from June 25-July 13 when he went 4-0 with a 1.95 ERA. From June 30-July 2 he threw 23 consecutive scoreless innings, the most by a Yankee starter since Tom Underwood hurled 24.2 in 1980. After wins at Kansas City and against Milwaukee he won back-to-back complete game shutouts on July 5 and July 13 at home against Detroit and  Kansas City, the first back-to-back shutouts by a Yankee since Ron Guidry in 1985 and the first at home since Dave Righetti in 1983. He allowed eight hits over 18 innings pitched. Before that four-game stretch, Andy was 7-8 with a 5.17 ERA; with the streak he ran his record to 11-8 with a 4.35 ERA.
Andy lost 6-2 at Texas, then pitched on July 25 at Cleveland allowing one unearned run while pitching his fourth complete game of the season, bringing his record to 12-9 and lowering his ERA to a season best 4.13. After netting decisions in 24 straight outings he had two consecutive no-decisions on August 14 at Milwaukee and August 19 at Detroit, the Yankees losing both games 5-4. Losses to Boston and Oakland gave Andy a 1-3 record with two no-decisions and a 6.82 ERA for August.
On September 26 he lasted one third of an inning at Boston (5 H, 8 ER), his shortest career outing. He won his final decision on September 30 against Detroit, evening his record at 15-15. Hawkins went 2-2 in September with two no-decisions. After the 24 straight outings with a decision ending on August 9, he went 2-4 in his final 10 outings with a 5.90 ERA.
Hawkins was 10-8 with a 4.68 ERA before the break and 5-7 with a 4.95 ERA after. In his 15 wins he pitched at least six innings each time and allowed 28 earned runs over 112.1 innings for a  2.24 ERA; in his 19 other outings he pitched at least six innings seven times and allowed 83 earned runs over 96 innings for a 7.78 ERA. Overall, Hawkins pitched six-plus innings in 22 of his 34 starts and the Yankees were 17-17 in games he started. In his wins he was supported with 6.2 runs per game and in his losses he was supported with 2.3 runs per game.
His 15 wins were a team high and a personal best since winning 18 in 1985. He was the only pitcher on the staff with at least 200 innings (208.1, the most by a Yankee since Phil Niekro logged 220 in 1985), the fourth time in the last five seasons Hawkins logged at least 200 innings. He did not miss a start all season and finished with a team best 30 decisions in 34 games started, including decisions in his first 24 outings. Hawkins had a team high five complete games (tying his 1985 career high) and two shutouts. He led the staff with 98 strikeouts (his highest since 1986 when he had 117).
Andy was 5-1 with a 3.18 ERA with a .233 batting average against in day games and 10-14, 5.18 with a .303 batting average against at night. He was 4-1, 6.15 on artificial turf and 11-14, 4.53 on grass surface. He finished with a 9-10 record with a 4.54 ERA at home and 6-5, 5.18 on the road.
He signed a three-year contract in December 1988. The contract runs through the 1991 season.
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 for 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 pitching 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 in his next outing, on July 23, a 7-hit 11-4 win over the Mets in San Diego.
Andy opened the 1983 season with AAA Las Vegas but received a promotion to San Diego in less than a month. 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.
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 (six games) 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.
In 1988, Hawkins posted a record of 14-11 with a 3.35 ERA in 33 games (all starts). He had four complete games (including 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.
Andy has spent three seasons as co-chairman of the San Diego March of Dimes Walk America. He is co-chairman of the Sixty-Five Roses Club, working closely with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
He enjoys hunting, fishing, watching the Dallas Cowboys and raising cattle on his Circle H Ranch."

 -1990 New York Yankees Information Guide

Led Northwest League in balks (4), 1978.
Led Texas League in complete games (14) and tied for lead in games started (27), 1981.
Led Pacific Coast League in shutouts (6), 1982.

 -1990 New York Yankees Information Guide

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