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Rebuilt & Ready To Run
Phillies southpaw Cole Hamels of the Threshers wants to take a bite out of the bigs. Given the adversity that he's already overcome, you've got to like his chances.

Jeff Berlinicke
Minorleaguenews.com

07.28.04 - Cole Hamels saw his career flash before him before it even started.

With a 95-mile-per-hour fastball and a wicked changeup, Hamels was considered the cream of the left-handed pitching crop in the 2002 amateur draft. For a pitcher with a golden left arm,whose potential makes major league teams salivate, it was all over: The 20-win seasons, the Cy Young awards, the multi-million dollar-contracts, and everything else he'd been dreaming about. 

Cole was playing street football during his junior year in high school. Going out for a pass, he rammed into a parked pickup. The injury didn’t seem drastic at first.  He didn’t miss a beat for about three weeks, pitching for his Rancho Bernardo High School team in the suburbs of San Diego.

“It didn’t seem serious at first,” Hamels said. “I thought I hit my knee harder than I hit my arm.”

Soon it got worse. Much worse.  While throwing a fastball three weeks later, the humerus bone in his pitching arm snapped, with a horrific noise that sounded like gunfire: A shot that ended his junior season, and threatened to end his career.

Hamels was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. Jan Fronek, the team doctor of the San Diego Padres, performed the surgery.

“I had trust in my doctors,” Hamels said. “They told me I would never pitch again and I kept telling them that I would.” He didn’t sleep for two days after that. In those sleepless nights, he committed himself to proving the doctors wrong.

Hamels had one thing going for him: A 17-year-old, he was still growing. He convinced Dr. Fronek that he wanted to make it back. Fronek told him that he still could have a career if he wanted it enough.

Cole also had support from pro pitchers who heard about his story. Former Tampa Bay Devil Rays hurler Tony Saunders, who had broken his arm twice while on the mound, called several times to offer encouragement. Dave Dravecky, a former major leaguer who suffered a similar injury and eventually had his pitching arm amputated, called as well.

Their encouragement, plus Hamels’ work ethic, had him back on the mound for his senior year. He regained the fastball that put him back on the major league radar, and went 10-0 with a 0.39 earned run average. He also developed a wicked curveball. 

Still professional scouts worried about him. His reports had red flags for the injury.

Hamels had dreamed of being taken by his hometown Padres, but they skipped over him in the first round of the 2003 draft.  The Phillies scouted Cole extensively. They pulled the trigger on the 17th pick.

“I was glad to be just a first rounder,” Hamels said. “I wanted to go to San Diego and I didn’t know much about the Phillies, but I’m happy where I am right now.”

Cole plays for the Class A Threshers in Clearwater, Florida. His manager is Hall-of-Famer Mike Schmidt.

Hamels said he had an autographed photo of Schmidt on his wall when he was a child. He still looks up to Schmidt, but he wants to get away from Clearwater as fast as possible. He has his sights set on Class AA Reading, Pennsylvania.  Granted you lose the white, sandy beaches of Florida’s Gulf Coast, but it is one step closer to Philadelphia.

Clearwater was a step up.  The first-rounder was given very conservative treatment, assigned to the Class A Lakewood (N.J.) Blue Claws in the South Atlantic League in 2003. The move is not a-typical for the Phillies farm, particularly for a player who is under evaluation after a major injury.

Hamels did not disappoint: In 74 2/3 innings, he dominated, striking out 115 batters and allowed only 32 hits. He was named the Phillies’ best prospect by Baseball America and received the Paul Owens Award as the best pitcher in the Phillies organization. He finished the 2003 season with Clearwater, posting a 2.73 earned run average while striking out 32 batters in 26 innings.

After more rehab, Hamels finally started pitching in the Threshers rotation in early May.  With Clearwater he had a 1.64 earned-run average in three starts as of May 31. In 11 innings pitched, he had 16 strikeouts and allowed only four walks, despite three no-decisions. He’s also not feeling any discomfort in the left arm, even though the thought that he’s just one pitch away from disaster looms largely in the back of his mind.

“If it happens again, it’s all over for me,” Hamels, “I’ve progressed a lot since it happened. I’ve gone from 88-93 (miles-per-hour) on my fastball to about 96. I think I can be in the majors by the end of next season. But if it even happens again, that’s it.”

With an arm like the sword of Damocles, whose care is rewarded by future financial security and fame for the rest of his life, Cole treats it with more care these days. It is a tool to be coddled with all the care of a priceless jewel.

Hamels said he knows everything is fine as long as he continues to retire opposing batters and can still lift his left arm at the end of the night.

“It never comes into my mind,” Hamels said. “You would think it would, but it just doesn’t. I guess I am kind of lucky.”

It may be that maturity of perspective from a 21-year-old pitcher who has had to undergo doubts and even more doubters that will keep his career on track to Philadelphia and the big time.