Experience is something that all Major League teams want from their on-field staff. Some guys made their mark in the minor leagues, have risen through the ranks, and know the system and organization well enough to be at the top level.
Others had a solid playing career, and teams took note of their strengths over the years. One coach who falls into the latter category is Minnesota Twins bullpen coach Latroy Hawkins. He spent 21 seasons as a Major League player and is now in a position to pass along his knowledge to active pitchers.
Hawkins made his debut in 1995 and was a starting pitcher for the first five years of his career. As a back-end of the rotation guy, he consistently took his assigned turn and made 33 starts each in 1998 and 1999, but the new decade had different plans.
He chuckled with MLBbro about the challenges he faced during the first part of his Major League career.
“The turning point was I wasn’t getting guys out as a starter. I just couldn’t seem to get big league hitters out the second and third time around, and sometimes not even the first,”
“In spring training of 2000, he told me I was going to start the year in the bullpen. Do you want to learn that role here or down in Salt Lake?” Hawkins referred to what his manager, Tom Kelly, asked him about staying in the big leagues or going to the Triple-A affiliate. That move is what led Hawkins to coming out of the bullpen in over 900 Major League games.
Hawkins Says The Game Has Changed Alot
Hawkins’ last game as a player was October 3, 2015, as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. Now as pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins, he discusses the challenges he faces in a coach’s role while developing young talents such as Taj Bradley and Simeon Woods-Richardson
“Since I retired, the game has changed so much,” Hawkins mentioned.
The 53-year-old has tremendous respect for the game and its players, of course, but has noticed something.
“From a pitching perspective, you had to master your level before you got to the next league. If there were four boxes you had to check, now you only have to check one of them.”
“It puts a lot of pressure on a Major League staff (today) because you’re trying to teach them things that they should have already learned, and it impairs you from teaching them the next part of the game once they get here,” he explained.
Staying healthy is a big part of why Hawkins was able to pitch for so long, but he credits something else for his longevity.
“It always goes back to making adjustments when adjustments are needed,” he shared. “Changing my arm angle or changing where I had my hands were a few things I learned in order to be successful and consistent over the years,” he added.
Gary. Indiana Didn’t Just Produce Music Stars
Hawkins is from Gary, Indiana, and very proud of his upbringing in the northwestern part of the state.
“There was no baseball in Gary; the town is all about basketball,” he reflected. “ I spent a lot of time in East Chicago, Indiana. My father’s family is from there. Grandmother, aunts, and cousins lived there, so I felt like I’m a native there too,” he shared. “The community prepared me for the ups and downs that baseball is going to throw at you.”
Hawkins proudly stated that former big league pitcher Tim Stoddard and MLBbro Kenny Lofton are from there.
Hawkins pitched for eleven different teams in his career, but the organization that he is with now truly has his heart.
“All my firsts were with the Twins. The team that drafted me, the first team I made it to the Majors with. I was brought up through the minor leagues with them, special coaches” he thought about his past and path to the games highest level.
“It’s always been a place where being family mattered. Ownership and the front office has treated me well. I’ll always be grateful.”
With the All-Star break less than a week away, the Twins continue to battle in the American League Central, and this is a time when Hawkins can share his experience with not only the bullpen but the rotation as well.
