Philadelphia Phillies Legend Officially Retires From MLB

One of the key pieces of the Philadelphia Phillies’ 2008 World Series champions called it a career on Friday.

Cole Hamels, the left-hander who started his career with the Phillies as a 22-year-old and spent 10 seasons with the team, officially retired from the game as a San Diego Padre.

Hamels signed a minor-league deal with the Padres in February but never pitched in the Majors. The Padres put Hamels on the voluntarily retired list.

But Hamels will always be a Phillies legend.

Across 10 seasons, starting with his breakthrough in 2006, he won 114 games. He was a three-time All-Star with Philly.

His 2008 season was something to remember. He went 14-10 in the regular season, along with a 3.09 ERA. But in the postseason he was sensational. He started four games and won all four, including two against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.

He won his only start in the World Series and was named the MVP of both the NLCS and the World Series.

He was a mainstay with the Phillies until 2015 when the Texas Rangers came calling for an ace at the trade deadline. Even though Hamels had thrown his first solo career no-hitter in his last Philadelphia start (he was part of a combined no-hitter in 2014), the Phillies traded him and Jake Diekman to the Rangers in exchange for Matt Harrison, Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro, Jake Thompson, Alec Asher, and Jerad Eickhoff.

With the Rangers he went 7–1 in 12 starts with a 3.66 ERA as he helped the Rangers win the AL West.

He remained in Texas in 2016, becoming the 77th player to reach 2,000 career strikeouts and going 15–5 record and a 3.32 ERA. The Rangers also made the playoffs that season.

Hamels also played for the Chicago Cubs (2018-19) and the Atlanta Braves (2020). He had not pitched in a Major League game since 2020.

For his career he went 163-122 with a 3.43 ERA.

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