LaTroy Hawkins (born December 21, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who currently serves as the bullpen coach for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). In his 21-year MLB career, he played for the Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York Mets, and Toronto Blue Jays. Through the 2020 season, his 1,042 games pitched were the 10th-most of any major league player. He has also registered saves against all 30 MLB teams.
Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Hawkins was a seventh-round draft pick of the Twins out of high school. He debuted with the team in 1995 and reached the major leagues for good in 1997. After posting some of the worst earned run averages (ERA) in the American League (AL) in 1998 and 1999, Hawkins was moved to the bullpen in 2000. He struggled as the Twins' closer in 2001 but found better success thereafter in a setup role, posting a career-low 1.86 ERA in 2003 and reaching the playoffs in 2002 and 2003 with Minnesota.
In 2004, the Cubs signed Hawkins to set up for closer Joe Borowski, but he blew several saves and became unpopular with the team's fans. He was traded to the Giants in 2005 and served as a setup man again for various teams for the next few seasons. He reached the World Series with the Rockies in 2007, though the team was swept by the Boston Red Sox in four games. Hawkins joined the Yankees in 2008, struggled, and was traded to the Astros, where he was very effective. In 2009, he filled in for an injured José Valverde as the Astros' closer and posted a 2.13 ERA. He signed a two-year contract with the Brewers after the season and reached the playoffs with Milwaukee again in 2011.
After spending a year with the Angels in 2012, Hawkins had to sign a minor league contract with the Mets in 2013. He made their roster and had become their closer by the end of the year. In 2014, as the oldest player in the NL, he served as Colorado's closer. In 2015, he reached the playoffs with the Blue Jays before retiring at the end of the year.
Amateur career
Hawkins was born and raised in Gary, Indiana. Hawkins' father was absent, and he was raised primarily by his mother, Debra, and his maternal grandparents. Growing up, he played baseball with broom handles, not getting to use a glove until he started playing Little League Baseball. At West Side, he competed in basketball against Glenn Robinson and received a full scholarship offer to play college basketball at Indiana State. Hawkins also participated in track and field and the 1600 meters relay while in high school. Initially, he favored basketball over baseball, but Hawkins chose to pursue a baseball career after his grandfather told him that the latter was his better sport. He spent the next four years in the Twins' minor league system before making the team's starting rotation out of spring training in 1995. His MLB debut on April 29, 1995, was a disastrous start against the Baltimore Orioles, where he gave up seven earned runs on seven hits in only innings of work. After losing his first three starts, Hawkins was demoted to the Salt Lake Buzz of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in May when the Twins had to shrink their roster.