A 15-year Major League Baseball veteran that was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies nearly 19 years ago out of his San Diego, California-based high school, 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels has a lot of positive memories to look back on fondly from his career.
Former Phillies ace Cole Hamels looks back on his successful career.
When asked in a recent interview as to which are his favorite, the left-hander immediately said “winning” is what any athlete would associate as being their favorite — to finally win a championship.
“[Also,] your debut and finally getting there, but for some reason, there’s nothing better than to finish a game,” Hamels added. “It’s something that you set out to do and then to do it.”
Hamels said that one of his biggest moments from his career was throwing a no-hitter with the Phillies, which turned out to be his final start in the team’s uniform before he was traded just days later to the Texas Rangers. The no-hitter came against one of his future teams in the Chicago Cubs.
“That was something pretty special and just the way that it kind of ended as my kind of ‘Philly career,'” the four-time All-Star said.
As far as his favorite pitch to throw over the years, Hamels chose the one he believes he is “probably known for,” the changeup. “Growing up with the Bugs Bunny cartoons and seeing people spin themselves into the ground of a pitch that looks like that’s coming, I know there’s nothing better than to actually witness that first-hand — what that type of pitch can do and how it can just baffle hitters,” he said.
Cole Hamels discusses how he dealt with pressure being a professional athlete.
In the same interview, Hamels spoke about the tremendous physical and mental pressure that athletes face to perform at the highest level, each and every night.
Hamels described the pressure as “tremendous,” but stressed the importance of building a foundation to help face it.
“Early on, that was something that, really, the sport of baseball ignited who I was,” Hamels said. “It kind of helped create my identity and that was really what I could always fall back on. It motivated me, day in and day out. With that, I was able to build on it.”
Hamels said that given the nature of baseball does not provide many breaks, he thrived off of that and built off of his passion to study as a pitcher — being “in the heart of the game,” 24/7.
“I loved trying to outthink or figure out guys. Over a long period of time, as I grew up, that’s how I was able to build who I was to withstand the pressures at the sort of level of being so elite. It just kind of fell into place,” Hamels continued. “It takes a lot of failure, accepting that, and then obviously trying to work toward success. In that, there has to be a lot of communication with your coaches, trainers, doctors, teammates, and anybody else that can help build who you are and make you better.”
Whether Hamels’ lone 2020 start with the Atlanta Braves featured his final pitches in professional baseball remains to be seen. Hamels remains a free-agent, and news has been quiet in recent months regarding his next possible destination.
Maybe at some point this season, the left-hander can finish his career the way it began — in red pinstripes.
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