Cole Hamels

He was a "gifted student", and scored a 1510 (out of 1600) on the SAT.

Scouts were interested in Hamels while he was in high school primarily because his fastball was clocked as high as 94 mph, and his secondary offerings were considered advanced.

However, some teams lost interest when Hamels broke his left humerus during his sophomore year.

Colbert Michael Hamels (born December 27, 1983), nicknamed "Hollywood", is an American former professional baseball pitcher.

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.

Nonetheless, Hamels was drafted in the first round of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 17th overall selection.

Hamels began his professional baseball career in 2003, pitching for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws of the South Atlantic League.

Later that season, he was promoted to the Clearwater Threshers of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League.

He finished the year by receiving the Paul Owens Award, given to the best pitcher in the Phillies' minor league system.

During the next two seasons, however, Hamels suffered through several injuries, and pitched only sparingly.

He missed most of the 2004 season with elbow tendinitis, making only four starts.

In 2005, he broke his pitching hand in a bar fight before the season began; after rehabilitation, he was assigned to Clearwater.

In July, the Phillies promoted him to the Class AA Reading Phillies of the Eastern League, where he surrendered the first home run of his professional career in his first start.

Subsequently, he was shut down for the remainder of the season with back spasms.

He 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.

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.

In 2006, a healthy Hamels started again at Clearwater, and after a brief stint in Reading, he was promoted to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons of the Class AAA International League.

In three games at Scranton, he struck out 36 batters while giving up only one walk and one run.

His minor league statistics included a record of 14–4 with a 1.43 ERA and 273 strikeouts in 35 games pitched.

For his performance, the Phillies promoted him to the major league club.

Hamels was called up to the Philadelphia Phillies in May 2006.

In his Major League Baseball debut on May 12, he pitched five scoreless innings, allowed one hit, struck out seven batters and walked five while earning a no-decision against the Cincinnati Reds.

In his second career start, Hamels was dominant until the seventh inning, during which he was pulled after he allowed several baserunners, but again received a no-decision.

A shoulder injury scratched Hamels from the lineup of what would have originally been his third major league start.

He was put on the 15-day disabled list and returned on June 6 to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 10–1 for his first Major League victory.

On August 14, 2006, Hamels had his best start of his rookie season, shutting out the New York Mets over eight innings and striking out nine in the Phillies' 13–0 victory.

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.

Hamels attended Meadowbrook Middle School and Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego.