Barry LeBrock
(An edited version of this article appears on FoxSports.Com)
(An edited version of this article appears on FoxSports.Com)
In the most angular of sports, contested between the sharp, fixed
points of an uncompromising diamond, it is the sweet curvature of a perfect
circle in which the unlikely career of Rockies reliever LaTroy Hawkins has
played out.
In the lonely, dirt-encrusted 18-feet of diameter that is the
Major League pitcher's mound, the oldest player in the National League starts a
year of raw round numbers; he is on his 10th team and playing in his 20th big
league season. On and on his career spins in the perfect arc of seasoned
veteran know-how.
Unlike fellow 20-year
veteran, Derek Jeter, for the 41 year-old Hawkins, Cooperstown does not await. Make no mistake about that. A record of 68-90
and a lifetime ERA of 4.37 has him on the Hall of Fame's "must purchase
ticket for entry" list, but he has built a career of impact and influence
none-the-less. "The guys in this
clubhouse , we see how valuable Hawk is," manager Walt Weiss insisted
Wednesday before the Rockies third game of this young season. " He's a
special guy. He's got a gift to lead.
It's real. It's authentic. He's built up
so much respect in this game. He's had a tremendous impact on our club already
and he hasn't even made an appearance yet."
A few hours later, he did make an appearance. And racked-up the102nd save of a career that was nearly derailed almost before it started.
Hawkins made his Major League debut in 1995, but his visions of
grandeur and success dissolved like sugar into what quickly became the cliché
of a big league cup of coffee. After just three appearances and an ERA of
13.50, he was sent to the minors. During
the all-star break that summer, he was visiting his hometown of Gary, Indiana,
contemplating a new direction.
"I was frustrated
with baseball. I went home and I was like, man, I don't know if I want to keep
doing this. Then one day I was hanging out with some buddies and my friend's
brother asked if he could borrow $2. I
said to myself, 'borrow two dollars!?!' and it got me to thinking, my check is $1400
every two weeks -- 2800 a month -- and I was like, man, I'm going back to
baseball!"
And, twenty seasons
later, here he is, plugging away, saving games and taking care of the younger
kids the way the late, great Kirby Puckett once did for him, buying him suits
for road-trips and allowing the rookie to focus on baseball. "I didn't have to worry about anything
-- rent, food, nothin'. And when I
thanked Kirby, he'd always say 'T-Hawk, just take care of the next person.'"
Round and round it goes.
The circle of life in sports' most linear game. "The first time I made a
million dollars," he says, "I started taking care of other guys. I think the first suit I bought was for
(future Cy Young winner) Johan Santana..." Paying it forward, just like
Puckett had requested.
In baseball's version of
Six Degrees of Separation, Hawkins' bloodlines run deep and impressive. He has a common teammate with Pete Rose (Carl
Willis, who played on the 1985 Reds with Rose and the '95 Twins with Hawkins),
and is only two degrees removed from the likes of Roberto Clemente and Hank
Aaron. He was also traded once upon a
time for the very first player listed alphabetically in Major League history
(David Aardsma). Longevity does have
its quirks.
Here's another one:
despite all the years of service, LaTroy Hawkins has not won a World Series. A
four-game sweep of his Rockies at the hands of the Red Sox in 2007 was the
closest he's come. "That's always
the carrot that guys will chase," he says, "but not everybody is that lucky, that fortunate. I've been fortunate. I've played on some good
teams, but we came up short. What more can I ask for? I wouldn't change a thing."
The career paths of
those who came before him tell him the end is near, but Hawkins insists he will
keep playing "as long as I can get guys out." And round and round it
goes. The helped becomes a helper. The rookie becomes a veteran. The kid becomes
a man. A scared youngster walks hesitantly into a major league clubhouse in faded
Levi's and strolls out confidently a couple of decades later, a grown man
sporting Armani. It's the circle of
baseball, and it seems to fit perfectly on LaTroy Hawkins.
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