Phillies 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels has committed $25,000 to help provide devices to hundreds of Atlanta-area students in need.
It is hard to believe, but more than 11 years has come and gone since Cole Hamels hoisted the 2008 World Series championship trophy in Phillies red pinstripes.
Now, the 36-year-old is near the end of his career, having signed just a one-year, $18 million contract with the Atlanta Braves in early December.
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Despite not being on the baseball diamond, Hamels, through his The Hamels Foundation, is still making an impact on the nearby youth near the home of the Atlanta Braves’ in Cobb County. His family recently donated $25,000 to help the Cobb Schools Foundation deliver more than 500 devices to meet digital learning needs of under-resourced children sheltering at home.
To meet some of the new digital learning needs of students sheltering at home, @ColeHamels has committed $25,000 through the @TheHamels foundation to support @CobbSchools foundation delivering more than 500 devices to under-resourced children across Cobb County. #ForTheA pic.twitter.com/maYh4rshiY
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 10, 2020
The Foundation still seeks to provide 500 more devices for Cobb County students; currently, more than $140,000 of their $250,000 goal has been raised.
Amid these unprecedented times, Hamels recently told FOX Sports’ Jeff Francouer, a fellow former Phillies player, that he and his family are staying down in Florida in his rental house.
Hamels was limited in spring training due to “irritating” his shoulder in offseason workouts; later, Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos said the southpaw would not be ready for the then-scheduled Opening Day. As of early March, Hamels had been progressing well but was not yet cleared to resume a throwing program.
Hamels later told Francouer that he is working out with training staff six days a week and is “feeling good.”
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If Hamels never appears in a major league game again pending a potentially canceled 2020 season, and, given his age, he still had a remarkable career. Fourteen seasons played, 163 wins, 2,558 strikeouts, four All-Star appearances, a NLCS and World Series MVP recognition, and, of course, the 2008 World Series championship in which he went 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA in two starts that series opposite the Tampa Bay Rays.
Hopefully Hamels does get to start in a major league game, as much as it would feel strange seeing him in a Braves uniform. As of now, he continues to rehab to full strength from his shoulder injury,