Andy Hawkins

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Melton Andrew "Andy" Hawkins (born January 21, 1960 in Waco, Texas) is a former major-league pitcher. A right-handed starter, Hawkins spent most of his career with the San Diego Padres, and also played for the New York Yankees and briefly for the Oakland Athletics.

He is known for being the only San Diego Padres pitcher to ever win a world series game.

[edit] Unusual No-Hitter

On July 1, 1990, Hawkins pitched a no-hitter for the Yankees against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park but lost the game. Although the Yankees could not muster a lead, Hawkins dominated the White Sox into the eighth inning, where he retired the first two batters before disaster struck. Sammy Sosa reached on a throwing error by Yankees third baseman Mike Blowers and the unnerved Hawkins walked the next two batters. That brought up Robin Ventura, who lofted a high, lazy fly to left field. The blustery winds buffeted the ball, and rookie Jim Leyritz, normally a third baseman, booted it, allowing all three baserunners to cross the plate. The next batter, Ivan Calderón, launched a fly ball to right field, which was lost in the sun and dropped by Jesse Barfield. The final count for the inning: four runs, no hits, three errors. When the Yankees went down in the top of the ninth inning, Hawkins’ place in the history books was secured.

The 4-0 loss was the largest margin of a no-hitter loss in the 20th century, and Hawkins became the first Yankees pitcher to lose a no-hitter. Adding further insult, on Sept. 4, 1991 the Committee for Statistical Accuracy, appointed by Commissioner Fay Vincent, changed the definition of a no-hitter to require that a pitcher throw at least nine full innings and a complete game. Since Hawkins played for the visiting team in the game in question, the White Sox never batted in the ninth inning, Hawkins lost the credit for his gem, though not the notoriety.

A high-priced free agent in the second year of a three-year deal, Hawkins had struggled terribly for a poor Yankees team in 1990. On May 8, with just one win and an ERA of 8.56, Hawkins was offered his outright release, which he accepted. But an injury that night to pitcher Mike Witt changed his mind. Hawkins pitched much better in his next three starts, although he still had only a 1-4 record prior to the no-hitter.

Unfortunately, Hawkins' bad luck was to continue after his flawed masterpiece. In his next appearance, he faced the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium in the opening game of a doubleheader. Hawkins pitched a shutout into the twelfth inning but wound up losing 2-0. To top it off, in his next start, the Yankees lost a six-inning no-hitter to Melido Perez and the White Sox.