Andy Van Hekken

Andrew William Van Hekken (born July 31, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.

Andy Van Hekken
Starting pitcher
Born: (1979-07-31) July 31, 1979
Holland, Michigan
Batted: Right
Threw: Left
Professional debut
MLB: September 3, 2002, for the Detroit Tigers
CPBL: August 21, 2007, for the Macoto Cobras
KBO: April 13, 2012, for the Nexen Heroes
NPB: March 27, 2016, for the Saitama Seibu Lions
Last appearance
MLB: September 27, 2002, for the Detroit Tigers
NPB: July 8, 2016, for the Saitama Seibu Lions
KBO: September 29, 2017, for the Nexen Heroes
CPBL: October 14, 2018, for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions
MLB statistics
Win–loss record1–3
Earned run average3.00
Strikeouts5
KBO statistics
Win–loss record73–42
Earned run average3.56
Strikeouts860
NPB statistics
Win–loss record0–4
Earned run average6.31
Strikeouts35
CPBL statistics
Win–loss record4–6
Earned run average4.24
Strikeouts46
Teams
Career highlights and awards
KBO
Medals
Men's Baseball
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 2011 Guadalajara National team

Early years

He attended Lakeview Elementary School and later Holland High School in Michigan.

Professional career

Van Hekken was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the third round of the 1998 MLB draft.

In 1999, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers along with Jerry Amador for Brian Hunter. He made his Major League debut in September 2002. In his first Major League appearance, he threw a complete game shutout for a victory against the Cleveland Indians. As of March 2017, he was the last Major League pitcher to pitch a complete-game shutout in his debut.[1] In 5 starts for the Tigers, he sported an ERA of 3.00 in 30 innings pitched, he had the same amount of strikeouts (5) as starts (5). He finished with a 1.5 K/9. He would never be called up to the Majors again in his career.

After becoming a free agent in 2004, Van Hekken has bounced around multiple organizations. From 2005 to 2011 he has pitched for Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals and the Houston Astros. With Houston, he remained with them from 2008 to 2011, pitching no higher than Triple-A.

Van Hekken signed a one-year contract for the 2014 season with the Nexen Heroes for his second season with the team in the Korea Baseball Organization.[2] In 2016, he signed with the Seibu Lions of the Pacific League in Nippon Professional Baseball. He was released on July 15. Van Hekken returned to the Nexen Heroes for the remainder of the 2016 season and the 2017 season. He became a free agent following the 2017 season.

On April 17, 2018, Van Hekken signed with the New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He left the team on August 14, 2018, to sign with the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

Van Hekken retired following the 2018 season.[3]

References
  1. Morosi, Jon Paul (March 30, 2017). "Andy Van Hekken still pitching at age 37". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  2. Andy Van Hekken relishes summer of 2000 with West Michigan Whitecaps, joining team's Hall of Fame – News Holland Sentinel Holland, Michigan
  3. Kaminski, Steve (May 6, 2020). "Baseball's return to South Korea brings back great memories for Andy Van Hekken". MLive.com. Booth Newspapers. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
  1. Holland native Andy Van Hekken honored to join Whitecaps Hall of Fame | MLive.com
  2. Andy Van Hekken…3148 Days and Counting – Ultimate Astros


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