Former World Series MVP Cole Hamels announces his retirement 4 years after his last game

The 2008 postseason was a coming-out party of sorts for Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels. In only his second full season in the major leagues, the left-hander won the MVP award in both the National League Championship and the World Series, leading the Phillies to their first crown since 1980.

Hamels’ career peaked so early and so high that it may have come as a surprise to some when he announced his retirement at a special ceremony in Philadelphia on Friday.

Hamels had not thrown a pitch in the major leagues in four years. Although he attempted to return in 2023 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres in his hometown, injuries prevented both comebacks. The Padres placed Hamels on the voluntary retiree list on August 4, 2023.

Friday’s ceremony was more, well, ceremonial. But for a franchise icon, it was important to watch it in the city where he began his career.

“That was right there,” Hamels told MLB.com. “It’s going to take me a while to really digest all of this and understand what just happened.”

As part of the ceremony, the Phillies presented Hamels with the pitching rubber and original lineup card from his July 25, 2015, no-hitter at Wrigley Field. This would be Hamels’ 308th and final appearance in a Philadelphia Eagles uniform.

Six days later, Hamels was traded to the Texas Rangers along with Jake Diekman and cash for six players. Hamels, 31, went 7-1 with a 3.66 ERA in 12 starts for the Rangers that season as the Phillies embarked on a franchise rebuild that would not bear fruit until seven years later.

From 2016 to 2020, Hamels played 116 more times in the starting lineup for the Rangers, Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves, made the All-Star team once and appeared in two postseason games.

For the rest of his career, Hamels remained most closely associated with the Phillies. In parts of 10 seasons (2006-15) in Philadelphia, he went 114-90 with a 3.30 ERA, made the NL All-Star team three times, and received votes for the Cy Young Award in four different seasons.

Hamels’ postseason heroics were crucial to the Phillies’ success in the 2008 World Series. He beat the Dodgers twice in the NLCS and the Tampa Bay Rays once in the World Series. He allowed a total of seven runs in five starts that October.

On Friday, several of Hamels’ former teammates were on hand at Citizens Bank Park – including former Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz, who caught Hamels’ no-hitter in 2015 – to celebrate the end of a glorious career.