Phillies 2015 TBOH Award Winners
By Matt Veasey
Jul 31, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA;
Hamels speaks with the media after being traded from the Phillies.
(Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports)
Just because it was rumored for months, the reality of Cole Hamels being traded away to the Texas Rangers still came as a shocker to many Phillies fans. At 31 years of age, Hamels was still in the prime of his career.
He had been the club’s 1st round pick in the 2002 MLB Amateur Draft, had won 114 games over a decade with the team, and was both the 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP for the 2nd championship team in Phils’ history.
Hamels was the unanimous choice of the half-dozen TBOH staffers as the Phillies 2015 Starting Pitcher of the Year. He pitched at the front of the team’s rotation for nearly four full months, from Opening Day right up to the MLB trade deadline.
On that deadline, Hamels was dealt to the Rangers along with reliever Jake Diekman for pitcher Matt Harrison and five prospects, at least three of which are highly rated.
In the end, Hamels was an easy choice, because the rest of this year’s Phillies rotation was made up of marginally talented journeymen like Aaron Harang and Jerome Williams, or rookies who didn’t pitch more than a couple of months, such as Aaron Nola and Adam Morgan.
Hamels made 20 starts for the Phillies in 2015, forging a 6-7 record for a team that was 27 games below the .500 mark following his final victory. That last win in a Phils uniform was a memorable one, with Hamels throwing a no-hitter at Wrigley Field vs the Cubs.
The veteran lefty had a 3.64 ERA, 1.181 WHIP, and a 3.27 FIP. He allowed 113 hits in 128.2 innings, with a 137/39 K:BB ratio.
Next: TBOH 2015 Phillies Relief Pitcher of the Year