Andy Van Hekken

Andy Van Hekken
Andy Van Hekken
	Starting pitcher
	Born: July 31, 1979 (age 45); Holland, Michigan, U.S.
	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 record	1–3
Earned run average	3.00
Strikeouts	5
KBO statistics
Win–loss record	73–42
Earned run average	3.56
Strikeouts	860
NPB statistics
Win–loss record	0–4
Earned run average	6.31
Strikeouts	35
CPBL statistics
Win–loss record	4–6
Earned run average	4.24
Strikeouts	46
	Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
	Detroit Tigers (2002); Macoto Cobras (2007); Nexen Heroes (2012–2015); Saitama Seibu Lions (2016); Nexen Heroes (2016–2017); Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions (2018);
Career highlights and awards
	KBO KBO League Golden Glove Award (2014); KBO wins leader (2014);
Medals
Men's Baseball
Representing United States
Pan American Games

Andrew William Van Hekken (born July 31, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the Macoto Cobras and Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, the KBO League for the Nexen Heroes, and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Saitama Seibu Lions.

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]

Post playing career

In 2023, Van Hekken was hired as a pitching coach at Calvin University.^[4]

References

^ Morosi, Jon Paul (March 30, 2017). "Andy Van Hekken still pitching at age 37". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
^ Andy Van Hekken relishes summer of 2000 with West Michigan Whitecaps, joining team's Hall of Fame – News Holland Sentinel Holland, Michigan
^ 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.
^ "Calvin Baseball Hires Andy Van Hekken as Pitching Coach". Calvin University. July 21, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2024.

External links

Career statistics from ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
Career statistics and player information from Korea Baseball Organization

[morosi-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.

[4] "Calvin Baseball Hires Andy Van Hekken as Pitching Coach". Calvin University. July 21, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2024.

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