Memories of LaTroy Hawkins

[G-Fafif]

1 of 3 Mets to last on active roster from Opening to Closing Day sans interruption in 2013.

Quintessential veteran presence who also performed. Perhaps it's a function of the marketplace that the Mets never seem to have these kinds of guys for very long.

Wish him well, appreciate what he did but at 41, can't assume he'd be as valuable here again.

[metirish]

A guy I came to like and root for easily.....happy trails.

[seawolf17]

metirish wrote: A guy I came to like and root for easily.....happy trails.

Absolutely. WAY more out of him than I ever expected, plus he seemed like a solid, likable dude. I wish him all the best and I hope he gives up many runs when they visit next season.

[Guest themetfairy]

I didn't expect much from him, and was pleasantly surprised by his serviceable role as a closer. But I agree - at age 41, I wouldn't be signing him to any long term deals.

I wish him best of luck in Colorado, except when the Mets are in town.

[smg58]

My biggest memory of him was watching a Fox game where they interviewed him in the dugout and I came away thinking he was a really easy guy to root for. While I don't think he was a great bet to duplicate this season either, I'd have thought he earned the right to get $4M or so from us to find out. I'm a little concerned that $2.25M was too steep for us to match.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I still think of him as the guy who coughed it up in the Craig Brazell Game.

Nice guy, but poor bet to repeat fine season. Expecting a "Mets person" to anonymously slam his relationship with the bullpen coach or something in tomorrow's TRacky Column.

[MFS62]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I still think of him as the guy who coughed it up in the Craig Brazell Game.

I was at that game, but didn't remember who fed that gopher.

I remember him as a veteran who stepped up when the Mets needed a closer and did a respectable job.

Later

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Age, likelihood to regress significantly, blah blah blah. It's weird how much it bums me out having to remember the guy.

[Zvon]

Did a great job, was a kool well spoken dude, obviously wants to be a leader type of guy going by his most recent sound bits. I wish him well.

Liked him in Fringe too.It must be Fringe Night

[ashie62]

Class act and a valuable 2013 Met...Happy trails LaTroy...

[Edgy MD]

Great condition for his age. Lean, athletic, and loose. Easy motion. (For more information on how I expected him to appear and perform, see Atchison, Scott.)

Led the 2013 Mets in miscreants subdued on international flights. I'd have to take a good look at the books, but I'd imagine that he tied the team's all-time single season record in that category.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Schaefer Mets Reliever of the Year, 2013.

It's possible that all four of the Players of the Year for 2013 won't play a single game for the Mets in 2014: Murphy, Harvey, Hawkins, Valdespin. Harvey and Hawkins are out, Valdespin is unlikely. I think Murphy will return, but a trade is certainly possible.

[Frayed Knot]

Hawkins was one of those acquisitions that Met fans seem to preemptively dislike: an older, journeyman reliever who's maybe had a solid career but was never really a closer and you probably saw him blow a game or two somewhere along the line and your memories are colored by that. And when the expectations are low to start with usually it only takes one early season bad outing for the fan base to label him as bullpen poison ["Oh no, please tell me Terry isn't bringing in HIM?!?"] and then at least 20 good outings before that rep starts to fade.
But, in this case, I don't recall too many bad outings early on so LaTroy was able to establish himself here easier than most in his position and once he took over for Parnell the transition was nearly seemless.

[G-Fafif]

As valuable by one reckoning as any 2013 Met.

If the Mets couldn�t have projected Murphy or Gee assuming statistical leadership as everyday players and starting pitchers, nobody would have guessed that as August rolled around, the Mets closer � on those occasions when they needed one � would be LaTroy Hawkins, heretofore Bobby Parnell�s setup man. The promotion from the eighth to the ninth was one he certainly didn�t demand but dutifully filled. Parnell had been one of the pleasant developments of the first half, but after showing signs of breaking out, he felt a pain in his neck. His year ended with a third of the schedule yet to be played. Enter (after a failed cameo by David Aardsma) the Hawk, who didn�t exactly swoop in with glee. LaTroy understood he was signed to serve not just as a pitcher but as a mentor. As the season was concluding, he mentioned the veterans who taught him the ropes when he was a neophyte Twin in the 1990s. One of the names belonged to Rick Aguilera, then the resident closer at the Metrodome, a decade earlier a building block of great Met things to come. Now, in his own baseball autumn, LaTroy Hawkins hoped he could set an example for the Parnells, the Gonzalez Germens and the Vic Blacks who were following in his footsteps. Whatever words of wisdom he offered were more than backed up by what he demonstrated from the mound. Hawkins had exactly zero saves through four months of the season. Beginning August 6, he compiled 13, blowing only one along the way. It wasn�t the plan to send a 40-year-old right arm to pitch so many ninths, but he became the best possible option and he didn�t disappoint. When 2013 was over, Hawkins had saved more games, logged more innings and chalked up more appearances than he had in any season since 2004. Back then, he was the Cubs� closer. That September, Mets fans knew him (gleefully) as the pitcher who gave up an instantly legendary game-tying ninth-inning home run to Victor Diaz. Diaz wouldn�t pan out and eventually be traded for Mike Nickeas. Nickeas wouldn�t do much and eventually be thrown in with R.A. Dickey to obtain Travis d�Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard and John Buck. Buck would be traded for Black, who earned his first major league save on a night in September when Hawkins needed a rest. LaTroy gave Vic his blessing, having played catch with the kid between outings. �Some guys,� Hawkins told the Star-Ledger�s Jorge Castillo, �have late life on the ball.� Hawk was referring to his latest prot�g�s 97-MPH stuff, but at the tail end of his nineteenth big league season, he had proven himself an authority on late life.

[Edgy MD]

Frayed Knot wrote: But, in this case, I don't recall too many bad outings early on so LaTroy was able to establish himself here easier than most in his position and once he took over for Parnell the transition was nearly seemless.

But there was a seam, as noted above by GFaFiF, and that seam was named Aardsma.

[Frayed Knot]

Aardsma got exactly ONE shot at closer, he blew the save and Hawkins took over from there.
As the season began, Hawkins sat behind the likes of Lyon & Atchison in the set-up role pecking order.

[Edgy MD]

Yes, I understand.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Frayed Knot wrote: Aardsma got exactly ONE shot at closer, he blew the save and Hawkins took over from there.

Was it really only one? I would have guessed, based on my possibly faulty memory, that it was three.

[Frayed Knot]

Parnell last appeared in a game on July 30th

The first save opportunity after that was Aug 2 where Aardsma was brought in to protect a 1-run lead vs the Royals but loaded the bases w/one out then allowed a game-tying Sac Fly (the Mets later won the game in the 12th)

The next save opportunity for the Mets was a one-run lead vs the Rox on the 6th and it was on that day when Hawkins picked up his first save of the season. He went on to tally 12 more and only Black and Francisco (1 each) picked up saves for the rest of the season, both in late September.

Aardsma, after his 8/2 blown save, appeared as late as the 9th inning just twice more during the remainder of the season, both in non-save situations while the Mets were behind.



Not much of an audition, eh?

[Edgy MD]

Got to be a sobering moment for Hawkins knowing that by signing that contract, it meant no more hugs from Anthony Recker.

[fimg=600]http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss/mlb/SIG=12br2hfkf/*http%3A//media.zenfs.com/en_US/Sports/AP_MLB/201308170031019021277-p5.jpg[/fimg]

For all intents and purposes, his life is effectively over.

[Benjamin Grimm]

That may be what chased him away. Who knows? Perhaps he'd prefer to hug Greg Burke.

[G-Fafif]

Contract reportedly stipulates that if he's not pitching against the Mets and Recker's catching, he can watch the game from directly behind home plate. It's standard for every former Met pitcher since 2013.