Cole Hamels is excited about coming to the Cubs, but it's for more reasons than just pitching for a contender. That is certainly one of the reasons, of course.
The Texas Rangers are currently 44-62, 23 games out of first place in the AL West and 18 games back in the wild card chase. Playing for a chance at another World Series ring is an exciting opportunity for the 34-year-old.
But imagine the elation of a young Cubs fan growing up to become a professional baseball player that gets to pitch for his favorite team. That's Hamels, and on Saturday in the visitor's clubhouse in St. Louis he looked like an excited kid.
“When I'd get home from school, WGN was on and the Cubs were playing,” said Hamels. “Really good family friends of Mark Prior, so with him, when I was in high school, I would always throw with him and workout with him.”
Believe it or not, Prior is just three years older than Hamels. The Cubs took the right-hander out of USC with the second overall pick in 2001, and he was in the big leagues midway through the 2002 season. Prior was done in the big leagues by 2006, however, having succumbed to various arm injuries. He finished his career with a 42-29 record and a 3.51 ERA in 657 innings.
Hamels was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies just a year after Prior, being taken with the 17th pick in the first-round of the 2002 draft. He made it to the big leagues in 2006, was an All-Star in 2007, and won both the NLCS MVP and World Series MVP in 2008. He finished the postseason that year with a 1.80 ERA in 35 innings.
But through all the success, one of Hamels' favorite career moments is the time that he threw a no-hitter at Wrigley Field. That happened in 2015 with the Phillies, and it ended up being his final start with the team.
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“Everything was working the way that I knew I was capable of having it,” he said. “When you can line up four pitches and they can go exactly where you want, those are results you can expect but it just doesn't necessarily happen. And it happened. So to do it at Wrigley, nothing better.
“That was the coolest thing, to be able to see the crowd even though I was a visiting player. To see them on their feet, and I was really lucky that my wife was in the stands for that, for her to be a part of it.”
Hamels said several times how much he loves to pitch at Wrigley Field, and it shows. In his career, the left-hander has a 1.76 ERA in 41 innings spanning six starts. Those numbers are impressive, but especially so when considering that he allowed five earned runs over two innings at Wrigley Field when he was a rookie. Since that game, he has allowed just three earned runs in 39 innings in his favorite ballpark.
But it's not just the ivy on the walls that has him excited about being with the Cubs. He likes getting the opportunity to hit, despite sporting a career batting average of just .172. Hamels does have one career home run, hit in 2012 of San Francisco Giants starter Matt Cain. Now he'll get a chance to catch up to Jon Lester, who has hit a home run in each of his last two seasons.
“This is a great division to play in,” he said. “I was able to have great success when I was in the National League, so bringing that back and getting to hit again. Hopefully I'll drop a few home runs and catch up to Lester and those guys, I think they have more than me.”
The Cubs would be fine if Hamels never hits a home run, but a few quality starts would go a long way. And if he happens to win another World Series MVP, they won't be complaining.