The Yankees have agreed to a 1 year contract with Latroy Hawkins. Let’s take a look at what’s coming to New York:
|
Basic Statistics |
||||||||||||||||||
|
Year |
Age |
|
Team |
G |
W |
L |
IP |
TBF |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
ERA |
RA9 |
|
2005 |
32 |
MLB |
SF |
45 |
1 |
4 |
37.1 |
166 |
40 |
|
|
3 |
18 |
17 |
17 |
30 |
4.10 |
4.34 |
|
2005 |
32 |
MLB |
Chi NL |
21 |
1 |
4 |
19.0 |
81 |
18 |
|
|
4 |
9 |
7 |
7 |
13 |
3.32 |
4.26 |
|
2006 |
33 |
MLB |
Bal |
60 |
3 |
2 |
60.1 |
261 |
73 |
12 |
3 |
4 |
30 |
30 |
15 |
27 |
4.48 |
4.48 |
|
2007 |
34 |
AAA |
Col Sp |
4 |
1 |
0 |
4.0 |
15 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
2.25 |
2.25 |
|
2007 |
34 |
MLB |
Col |
62 |
2 |
5 |
55.1 |
225 |
51 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
21 |
21 |
16 |
29 |
3.42 |
3.42 |
|
Extended Statistics |
|
|||||||||
|
Year |
Age |
|
Team |
BB/PA |
K/PA |
BABIP |
GB% |
HR/Air |
FIP |
BsRA9 |
|
2005 |
32 |
MLB |
SF Giants |
10.2% |
18.1% |
.347 |
|
|
4.09 |
|
|
2005 |
32 |
MLB |
Chi NL |
8.6% |
16.0% |
.272 |
|
|
5.71 |
|
|
2006 |
33 |
MLB |
Baltimore |
5.7% |
10.3% |
.330 |
46% |
3% |
3.91 |
4.76 |
|
2007 |
34 |
AAA |
Co Spngs |
13.3% |
33.3% |
.250 |
63% |
0% |
2.50 |
1.49 |
|
2007 |
34 |
MLB |
Colorado |
7.1% |
12.9% |
.265 |
65% |
10% |
4.41 |
4.00 |
Interestingly, there is a discrepancy in the 2006 groundball rate between firstinning.com and thebaseballcube.com, but it is only one of 3%.
A lot of Yankee fans on the internet don’t seem to think much of this move, and see the Yankees as having only acquired a marginal reliever. The general reaction seems to be lukewarm, and people are happy that the contract is only for one year. I agree that it is good that the contract is only one year, but I think I am happier about this signing than most.
The reason for my optimism comes from Hawkins’ extreme ground ball rate. His 65% mark in 2007 ranked him 2nd in the NL and 3rd in baseball among all pitchers with more than 30 IP. My belief is that the Yankees know this, and at some level are capitalizing on the undervaluing of ground ball rates among MLB front offices. If Hawkins can post a similar figure this year, even with the low strike out rate, he figures to be one of the better middle relievers in the American League. With that in mind, and also factoring in the money and years, this appears to be a great signing by the Yankees.
If that groundball rate holds, I would not be surprised to see Hawkins outdo both David Riske and Scott Linebrink next year, two much more highly sought after (and now more highly paid) middle relievers.
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