Former World Series MVP Cole Hamels has retired after his valiant effort at a comeback with his hometown San Diego Padres fell short.
The Padres, who signed Hamels to a minor league deal in February, announced Hamels’ retirement Friday. The south-paw’s agent, John Boggs, confirmed that the 15-year veteran was calling it quits and hanging up his cleats.
Hamels, 39 years-of-age, made one start for the Atlanta Braves in 2020 and has not taken the mound since then. The four-time All-Star underwent shoulder surgery in 2021.
While many first-round picks and top prospects fail to live up to those billings, Hamels shattered expectations and went on to become one of the generation’s finest pitchers.
Hamels, who went to Rancho Bernardo High, was drafted in the first-round with the 17th overall pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2002. While many first-round picks and top prospects fail to live up to those billings, Hamels shattered expectations and went on to become one of the generation’s finest pitchers. Hamels posted a modest 4.08 ERA in 132 1/3 innings as a rookie but had a coming out party with an All-Star season that saw him finish sixth in NL Cy Young voting the following year.
From 2006-15, Hamels starred for the Phillies. He and teammates Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins became synonymous with the Phillies organization during their golden days, serving as the foundation that ultimately brought a World Series title to the city in 2008.
He was the MVP of the 2008 World Series with the Phillies. Hamels helped the Phils back to the postseason in each of the following three years. They repeated as NL champs in 2009 before dropping the World Series to the New York Yankees. Hamels had a relatively pedestrian season in 2009 but rebounded nicely to fire 208 2/3 frames of 3.06 ERA ball the next year. He secured his second All-Star nod and a fifth-place Cy Young finish with a 2.79 ERA over 216 frames in 2011.
He pitched for the Phillies for a decade and was with the Texas Rangers and the Chicago Cubs. He was 163-122 with a 3.43 ERA and 2,560 strikeouts in 15 seasons.
The Padres also announced that Craig Stammen retired. He spent the majority of his 13-year career coming out of the bullpen, including six years with the Padres.
