Cole Hamels, American baseball player
Colbert Michael "Cole" Hamels (born December 27, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (2006–2015), Texas Rangers (2015–2018), Chicago Cubs (2018–2019), and Atlanta Braves (2020).
Originally from San Diego, California, Hamels excelled at Rancho Bernardo High School both academically and athletically. The Phillies drafted Hamels out of high school, in the first round (17th overall) of the 2002 MLB Draft, and he began playing in the Phillies’ minor league system. Numerous issues, including an injury sustained in a bar fight, among other injuries, occurred during Hamels’ first few minor league seasons. When he reached the Triple-A level, he was the top pitcher in the Phillies' minor league system in 2006.
In May 2006, Hamels made his major league debut for the Phillies. After securing a long-term spot as a member of the Phillies starting rotation in his rookie season, he made large strides in the 2007 Major League Baseball season and won the Phillies' top major league pitcher award. Hamels was both the top pitcher on the team entering the 2008 season, as well as during the Phillies' postseason run, during which they ultimately won the 2008 World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays; he won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award. After the 2008 season, Hamels signed a three-year contract with the Phillies. His statistics declined over the next two seasons, as he struggled through a tumultuous 2009 campaign and somewhat bounced back in 2010 – however, still not approaching his 2008 numbers. Over the next few seasons, Hamels was joined by fellow All-Star pitchers Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Roy Oswalt. Hamels flourished alongside them, putting up some of his top career seasons, before suffering from poor run support in 2013. With the decline of his aging teammates, the team missed the postseason for the next few years, but he remained one of the Phillies' consistent stars. Hamels was traded to the Texas Rangers in 2015, and he sparked their run to the AL West title that season. Hamels spent parts of four seasons with the Rangers, including an All-Star season in 2016, before being traded to the Cubs in 2018. In 2020, he was shut down for the season after pitching only 3+1⁄3 innings.