Cole Hamels on the Phillies’ World Series chances: ‘They have it’

Cole Hamels thanked the scout who signed him and the coaches who mentored him, the teammates who supported him and the fans who pushed him through a major-league career that lasted for 15 seasons, the first 10 in Philadelphia.

Then, he turned to the Phillies’ dugout.

“And now,” the 2008 World Series MVP said, “it’s this team’s turn.”

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Hamels, 40, decided last summer to end his second bid to come back from surgery on a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder. He hasn’t pitched in a game since Sept. 16, 2020. Officially, though, he didn’t retire until Friday night in a pregame ceremony near the mound where it all started for him in 2006.

The idea of retiring as a Phillie came to Hamels two years ago. He was invited back to Citizens Bank Park for the 2022 World Series and again last October for the NL Championship Series. It all seemed so familiar. The sellout crowds. The red rally towels. The earsplitting noise.

Oh, and the championship-caliber team.

“They have it,” Hamels said after the ceremony. “The team, the front office, they’ve put together a really good group of guys. That’s what Philly always does. When they really go after something and they know they’re ready, they get the right people, the right pieces.”

In time, No. 35 might be curious to see if he fits into the puzzle.

Hamels lives in Texas, near Dallas, but said he keeps tabs on the Phillies and Rangers, two of his former teams. He traveled to London earlier this month for the Phillies’ two-game series against the Mets. He visits the area every summer to vacation with his kids in Ocean City.

For now, he appears content to enjoy retirement. He was, after all, the last of the 2008 Phillies to call it quits. And he did make more than $200 million in his career.

But Hamels also knows that he wants to work in baseball again someday — and in a role that isn’t merely ceremonial.

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“It’s the one thing I guess I’m good at,” he said, laughing. “Baseball.”

Hamels said he has talked to former teammates about their post-playing experiences. Shane Victorino, for example, spent a week in March as a Phillies guest instructor in spring training. Maybe Hamels could do that on the pitching side. Chase Utley was a special assistant in the Dodgers’ front office before moving to London as MLB’s European ambassador.

Last year, Hamels worked out with minor leaguers at the Padres’ spring-training complex in Arizona while making a comeback bid. He learned more about the pitching technology that wasn’t available when he was coming up and has overtaken the sport.

“It’s a different age,” he said.

But there’s also something to be said for the wisdom that comes with the experience of having started the clinching game of a World Series.

“You still have to think and you still have to pitch, and there’s still a lot more that’s involved with gut instincts and visually being able to be in the moment that sometimes numbers can’t really help you with,” Hamels said. “I guess it’s just learning how to communicate with the younger generation. I admire Jamie Moyer for what he did for me because he was in his 40s and I was 22, 23, and he was able to communicate with me. Now I’m in his position.

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“Anything I like to do, I like to put full effort in. But I know there’s a learning curve in everything you do. The front office is different; coaching and teaching is different. It’s just the opportunity to have those sort of possibilities to look at what I might be good at and where I can add in my experience and expertise.”

Meanwhile, Hamels is enjoying watching the Phillies, with “one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball.” He sees similarities between the 2024 rotation — Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, Cristopher Sánchez, and Taijuan Walker — and the famous “Five Aces” from 2011 with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Hamels, Roy Oswalt, and Joe Blanton.

Hamels also equates the disappointment of losing in the division series in 2007 with dropping Game 6 and 7 of the NLCS last year.

“Last year is something that probably taught them a lot,” Hamels said. “That’s the strength that they can build off of. That’s what you do as athletes. You never stay satisfied. When you come up short, you work harder. And you can see it just in how they’re playing today.”

Someday, maybe he’ll find some way that he can help.

“If it fits and there’s an opportunity, I would definitely look at it,” Hamels said. “But everything has to fit in the right way. I don’t want to step on people’s toes. I just want to be an asset.”