Blake Edward Hawksworth (born March 1, 1983) is a Canadian baseball coach and former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played college baseball at

Bellevue Community College Bellevue College (BC) is a public college in Bellevue, Washington. Created in 1966, the school is the largest of the 34 institutions that make up the Washington Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) system and the third-largest institution o ...

in 2002 and professionally for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

between 2009 and 2011.

Early life and career beginnings

He grew up in

Sammamish, Washington Sammamish ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 67,455 at the 2020 census. Located on a plateau, the city is bordered by Lake Sammamish to the west and the Snoqualmie Valley to the east. Sammamish is s ...

, and was drafted in the 28th round out of Eastlake High School in by the Cardinals. He played one year of baseball at

(now simply Bellevue College) before signing with the Cardinals as a draft and follow. Prior to playing at Bellevue Community College, Blake played several years under Bill Caudill for the Mercer Islanders and Fox Sports. After two superb seasons in the minors, he was named by

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

as the Cardinals' top prospect in . However, injuries limited him to pitching in only nine games in and . However, he got right back on track in as he went 11–4 and with an

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

under 3 between the

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roge ...

and the

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They are members of the Texas League's North Division and serve as the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Springfield Cardinals began pl ...

. In , he played for the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbird ...

and ended the season with a disappointing 4–13 record with a 5.28 ERA. And in 2008, he went 5–7 with a 6.09 ERA.

Major leagues

St. Louis Cardinals

He made his major league debut on June 6,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, pitching two IP, giving up four runs, three hits (including a home run), walking one, and striking out one. Despite this, his debut was looked at as positive because of his excellent pitch command. The Cardinals had high hopes for him in the future, as he was one of the organization's better young pitching talents. Hawksworth was hit in the face near his mouth by a line drive by outfielder

Sam Fuld Samuel Babson Fuld (born November 20, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current executive for the Philadelphia Phillies organization of Major League Baseball (MLB), where he most recently served as the team's gener ...

, and crumpled to the ground, in a game in September 2010. He left the field under his own power and was taken to hospital. The injury required approximately 20 stitches, and ended his season. In two seasons with the Cardinals, he appeared in 75 games, starting eight of them. His overall record was 8–8 with a 4.07 ERA.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On November 30, 2010, he was traded to the

for infielder Ryan Theriot. He appeared in 49 games for the Dodgers, all in relief, with a 2–5 record and 4.08 ERA. Hawksworth began feeling tenderness and discomfort in his elbow during the offseason and underwent elbow surgery in early January 2012. This injury caused him to be placed on the 60-day disabled list at the start of the season. He began a rehab assignment in June but was shut down after a couple of appearances due to shoulder soreness. On August 23, he underwent

arthroscopic Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the j ...

shoulder surgery, which ended any chance he had to return in 2012 and the report from the team was that he might also miss the 2013 season as a result of the recovery period. On October 12, 2012 the Dodgers outrighted him to the Triple–A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

and removed him from the 40-man roster. On October 17, he elected to become a free agent. Hawksworth retired from professional baseball on February 12, 2014.

Coaching

After his baseball career ended due to injury, Hawksworth became an assistant basketball coach at Eastlake High School. On August 20, 2019, Blake Hawksworth was named as the Pitching Coach for

Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. The university offers degrees in over 200 areas of study and is administrativel ...

for the 2020 baseball season.

Personal life

His older sister Erin is a

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

sports anchor in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and his grandfather

Jack Poole John Wilson "Jack" Poole, (April 14, 1933 – October 23, 2009) was a Canadian businessman who, as the head of the 2010 Winter Olympics bids, VANOC bid committee, was responsible for bringing the 2010 Winter Olympics to Canada. He died of pancr ...

was the head of the VANOC bid committee that brought the Winter Olympics to Vancouver. He is married to Amie Hawksworth and has a daughter and two sons.

References

External links

Blake Hawksworth page at Foxsports.comOfficial Cardinals ProfileBlake Hawksworth page at Stlcardinals.scout.comCareer Profile at Mahalo.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawksworth, Blake 1983 births Bellevue Bulldogs baseball players Canadian emigrants to the United States Living people Sportspeople from North Vancouver St. Louis Cardinals players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Canada 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Baseball people from British Columbia Johnson City Cardinals players New Jersey Cardinals players Palm Beach Cardinals players Peoria Chiefs players Springfield Cardinals players Memphis Redbirds players Gulf Coast Cardinals players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players People from Sammamish, Washington Baseball players from King County, Washington Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball coaches Grand Canyon Antelopes baseball coaches Oregon Ducks baseball coaches