Coro: Lopes staff makes major hire

Ten years ago, Blake Hawksworth was living the dream as a Major League Baseball rookie pitcher with starry statistics for the St. Louis Cardinals' National League Central Division champions.

Hawksworth pitched his final big-league game two years later -- a series of injuries took the ball from him. But disaster was divine intervention in disguise, leading him to his new job as Grand Canyon pitching coach after already studying psychology at GCU.

While attempting rehabilitation in 2012 at the Los Angeles Dodgers' nearby spring training complex, Hawksworth visited GCU and Lopes head coach Andy Stankiewicz, looking to find a college for his high school-age brother.

"I remember walking around and thinking, 'Gosh, it would be cool to coach collegiately,' " Hawksworth said. "I think I always saw myself doing this. I remember that pull then."

A year later when injuries forced his retirement, Hawksworth emailed Stankiewicz with a message, "I don't know anyone in the coaching world, but I would love to talk to you about what that looks like."

Stankiewicz responded, "Let's talk. I'm sure God has great things in store for you."

After working as an MLB Certified Player Agent and the Cal State Fullerton pitching coach, Hawksworth has found that keeps proving true. He joins GCU for the 2020 season with all of the Lopes' starting rotation returning and top recruits strengthening the staff.

At 36, Hawksworth still could be coming out of a major league bullpen if not for arm injuries, but his call to the mound and pull to the park continued at GCU.

Hawksworth found his calling when he became the Fullerton pitching coach for 2017 and helped the Titans to the College World Series with a staff that ranked 29th nationally for earned run average (3.64) and fifth for walks per nine innings (2.55).

"It was hard because baseball is your life up until that point," Hawksworth said of retiring at age 30 before 2014 spring training. "Since you're a little kid, being a baseball player consumes you. When it's taken from you like that, it's not a pleasant feeling. But you've just got to trust that it's part of your plan and out of your control.

"At the moment, there were some raw spots where you cry out, 'Why?' But looking back, the testimony is that you learn a lot about yourself through adverse moments and tough seasons of life. Injuries and other things have molded me in a good way. I'm thankful for it."

MLB: New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals Hawksworth discovered baseball when his first toss in the backyard sailed over his father and the backyard fence and through the neighbor's window. His accuracy caught up to the liveliness in his arm and he turned into a 28th-round pick by St. Louis in 2001, when there was a draft-and-follow rule.

He went from a $250,000 signing bonus offer in 2001 to a $1,475,000 signing a year later because of a season with three no-hitters and one earned run allowed at Bellevue (Washington) Community College, near his home in Sammamish.

"It was nuts," Hawksworth said. "There were moments when I was like, 'The stars are aligned.'

"I share that story with a lot of pitchers because my stuff didn't really change from my high school senior year to that freshman year at Bellevue. My mentality changed with letting go of some of the things I couldn't control, trying to climb up a draft board. I mentally grew a lot and saw it happening the way it played out before it played out."

Hawksworth shot through the minor league system despite a torn labrum in 2004 that required an 18-month rehabilitation. He was the organization's minor league pitcher of the year in 2006 and reached Triple-A for 2007 and 2008.

After a 2009 call-up to St. Louis, Hawksworth posted a 4-0 record and 2.03 ERA as a rookie and made a playoff appearance. He spent one more season with St. Louis before being traded to the Dodgers for Ryan Theriot.

Following that season, Hawksworth needed to have a bone chip removed from his throwing elbow. A month later, he underwent another surgery to remove an infection. Following rehabilitation, he tore his right shoulder capsule at the start of his throwing program. It is an injury that has famously devastated the likes of Mark Mulder, Johan Santana and Dallas Braden.

"You get that one and you're done," Hawksworth said.

To this day, he can toss without issue, but throwing hard from the mound was too painful to make a comeback.

He became a representative for his agent's firm, Scott Boras Corporation, and returned to that job after one season at Fullerton, a job he left to help a family situation.

"What I'm most impressed by is what a high-quality person he is," Stankiewicz said. "He cares about people and knows how to handle people. Our pitching staff and our program won't miss a beat. We have a good pitching staff coming back, so it was important to find someone who can keep that momentum moving. I've always believed you win on the mound."

Hawksworth, whose position is contingent on completing the university hiring process, follows Nathan Choate (now Loyola Marymount head coach) and Rich Dorman (now Oregon State pitching coach) in the role as Lopes pitching coach.

"I'm really confident that, with Blake onboard, our pitching staff is going to keep moving forward," Stankiewicz said. "He's going to teach these guys how to compete, how to work down in the zone, how to have a fastball to command at any point, how to have a great secondary pitch, how to hold runners – all the things he did as a pro player."

Stankiewicz already had expressed interest in Hawksworth when he learned that he is a former Cardinals organization teammate of Mitchell Boggs, the brother-of-law of GCU Interim Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs.

The stars aligned again for Hawksworth to pursue a passion at GCU. He coached basketball during baseball offseasons at his high school alma mater. His father was a coach and his brother, Quinn, is an assistant baseball coach at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina.

"I think the kids will find out that my story is relevant to where they want to be and who they want to become," Hawksworth said. "I've seen the high and the low. I've seen the juco level and I've seen the No. 1 prospect life and I've seen the bottom of the order when you have to fight your way back up.

"I just want them to trust me. For them to let you in, you've got to let them into your life too."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

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