Cole Hamels
Left-handed pitcher and 2008 World Series MVP.
Colbert Michael Hamels, known as "Hollywood," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2006 to 2020. He was a key member of the Philadelphia Phillies' 2008 World Series championship team and was named World Series Most Valuable Player. Hamels also pitched for the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, and Atlanta Braves.
Quick Facts
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats
- Left
- Born
- 27 December 1983
- Birthplace
- San Diego, California, U.S.
- Debut league
- MLB
- Debut date
- May 12
- Debut year
- 2006
- Debut team
- Philadelphia Phillies
Facts from the source article.
Early life
Hamels attended Meadowbrook Middle School and Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego. He scored 1510 on the SAT and was considered a gifted student. Scouts were drawn to his fastball, which reached 94 mph, and his advanced secondary pitches, though some lost interest after he broke his left humerus during his sophomore year. The Philadelphia Phillies selected him 17th overall in the first round of the 2002 MLB draft.
Professional career
Hamels began his professional career in 2003 with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, later moving to the Clearwater Threshers and earning the Paul Owens Award as the top pitcher in the Phillies' minor league system. Injuries hampered his next two seasons: elbow tendinitis limited him to four starts in 2004, and a broken pitching hand from a bar fight delayed his 2005 season. After rehab, he pitched for Clearwater and Double-A Reading before being shut down with back spasms. In 2006, healthy again, he started at Clearwater, moved to Reading, and then to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he struck out 36 batters with one walk and one run in three games. His minor league totals that year were 14–4 with a 1.43 ERA and 273 strikeouts in 35 games. Called up in May 2006, he debuted on May 12 with five scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds. After a shoulder injury landed him on the disabled list, he returned on June 6 to earn his first major league win. He finished his rookie season with a 9–8 record, 4.08 ERA, and 145 strikeouts in 132 1/3 innings.
Pitching style
Hamels was known for his changeup, which Fangraphs ranked as the fourth best in MLB in 2012. The Hardball Times described it as a "killer" pitch against right-handed hitters. His high school pitching coach attributed the changeup's development to Hamels breaking his arm, which forced him to focus on that pitch instead of his curveball. Chipper Jones called Hamels the best left hander in the National League in 2008, citing his fastball and devastating changeup. Hamels also threw a four-seam fastball averaging 91.4 mph (reaching 94–96 mph), a cutter at 88 mph, and an inconsistent curveball averaging 77 mph. He briefly used a two-seam fastball in 2008–2009 before debuting his cutter in 2010, which helped raise his groundball rate to 52.3 percent in 2011.
Personal life
Hamels is of Dutch descent and the oldest of three children, growing up in San Diego. He married reality television personality Heidi Strobel on December 31, 2006; they divorced in 2024. The couple lived in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, and owned a home in Southlake, Texas. They built a home in Branson, Missouri, but instead relocated to Texas and donated the Missouri home to Camp Barnabas, a Christian charity for children with special needs. In 2009, the Hamels formed the Hamels Foundation, a nonprofit focused on education for children in Philadelphia and Africa; after Hamels resigned in 2021, it was renamed Uplift Malawi. Hamels became engaged to actress Rebekah Graf in February 2026.
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