Minnesota Twins: Making the Case for Each Twin on the HOF Ballot
By Otto Johnson
Minnesota Twins Candidate No. 2: LaTroy Hawkins
Career Stats: 1042 G, 1467.1 IP, 75-94, 98 GS, 2 CG, 127 SV, 4.31 ERA (4.18 FIP), 983 SO
Hall of Fame Stats (Per Baseball Reference):
- Gray Ink: 6 (Average HOF: 185)
- Hall of Fame Monitor: 36 (Likely HOF: 100)
- Hall of Fame Standards: 4 (Average HOF: 50)
- JAWS (Hawkins is the 72nd-Best Relief Pitcher All-Time in JAWS)
- Hawkins: 17.8 Career WAR/16.1 7-Year Peak/17.0 JAWS
- Average Hall of Fame Relief Pitcher: 39.1 Career WAR/26.0 7-Year Peak/32.6 JAWS
Making the Case For: Longevity. LaTroy Hawkins pitched in 1,042 games, the tenth most of any pitcher All-Time over his 21-year career. He’s in good company; Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley, Hoyt Wilhelm, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith, and Goose Gossage all join him in the Top 15.
He’s also 77th in games finished and 127th in saves, so his longevity helps him a bit there. He made a positive impact on several different franchises, and that alone should gain him some help. He’s gone a long ways in his career.
Making the Case Against: He’s a reliever with a career 4.31 ERA, below-average strikeout numbers, and a very meh stat line overall. A 21 year career should be celebrated, but he’s simply not Hall-worthy.
Ranking out as the 72nd best player at his position would normally be a pretty solid spot, but for a reliever, that’s essentially a death knell. Relievers are extremely important to baseball, but they rarely make the hall any more without absolutely historic numbers. Hawkins simply wasn’t anywhere near that position.
In addition, he has ZERO awards or recognition to his name. No All-Star bids, no reliever awards, and led the majors in exactly one category *once* his entire career: earned runs in 1999. That all adds up to his Hall campaign falling short. Chance of Induction: 1%