An elite lefty starter. A strikeout machine. A postseason hero.
Cole Hamels is all of the above. Will he be a Hall of Famer, too?
After a 15-year career with the Phillies, Rangers, Cubs and Braves, Hamels is on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the first time for the Class of 2026. The lefty starter must receive 75% of the vote on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot to earn induction into Cooperstown. Hamels will find out his fate at 6 p.m. ET on Jan. 20, when voting results will be revealed live on MLB Network.
Here are four reasons Hamels had a career worthy of the Hall of Fame.
He was Mr. Consistent
Longevity is crucial for starters hoping to make it to Cooperstown, and Hamels had it. Particularly for a pitcher of his era, Hamels’ 10-year “peak” stretch of sustained success is a huge key to his Hall of Fame resume.
It didn’t take long for the left-hander, a first-round Draft pick out of high school in 2002, to slot into the Phillies’ rotation and immediately become one of the staff’s aces. Hamels’ age-23 campaign in 2007, just his second season in the big leagues, was a large-sample glimpse of his talent: He had a 3.39 ERA, striking out 177 in 183 1/3 innings and even throwing two complete games to earn a National League All-Star nod and finish sixth in NL Cy Young voting.
That was just the beginning. From 2007 to 2016, Hamels posted a 3.26 ERA in 316 games, averaging just shy of 200 strikeouts per year. He was consistent, durable -- after 28 starts in 2007, he made 30 or more starts for nine straight years -- and effective. Hamels’ best season came in 2014, when he posted a 2.46 ERA, struck out 198 batters and again finished sixth in Cy Young balloting. He went out on top with the Phillies, tossing a no-hitter in 2015 in his final game before being traded to the Rangers.
During his 10-year peak, Hamels averaged 4.6 Baseball-Reference WAR per season, essentially pitching like an All-Star (typically a 5-WAR threshold) for an entire decade. His 126 ERA+ (adjusted for ballpark factors) in that span is further proof Hamels was a cut above the average starting pitcher for a significant time.
And even after his prime years, Hamels hardly fell off a cliff. From 2017 to 2019, he still made 83 starts, had a 3.92 ERA and amassed 9.3 bWAR (3.1 WAR per season). Despite being in his mid-30s and toward the tail end of his career -- which ended after one 2020 outing for the Braves -- Hamels remained a valuable pitcher.
He racked up the strikeouts
Only 40 pitchers have ever reached the impressive milestone of 2,500 strikeouts. Hamels is part of that elite group.
That might seem surprising at first blush, but thanks to his health, consistency and bat-missing stuff, Hamels totaled 2,560 K’s in his career -- in a lot less time than many other hurlers. His total ranks 34th all time, above Hall of Fame pitchers such as Christy Mathewson (2,507), Don Drysdale (2,486), Juan Marichal (2,303) and Jim Palmer (2,212).
Twenty-three of the 40 pitchers to surpass 2,500 K’s are already in the Hall of Fame. The group of 17 who aren’t includes five players not yet eligible: Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Chris Sale. Félix Hernández, who amassed 2,524 strikeouts, is vying for Cooperstown on his second ballot after receiving 20.6% of the vote last year.
Reaching that major milestone at all is noteworthy, but doing so as a lefty is arguably even more special. Hamels is one of just 12 southpaws to rack up at least 2,500 K’s, including Kershaw, Sale and Class of 2025 Hall of Fame inductee CC Sabathia. Sabathia joined Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton, Tom Glavine and Warren Spahn as the five Hall of Fame lefties above the 2,500 mark, and Hamels could be the sixth.
Yes, strikeout rates have risen in recent years. But getting to 2,500 requires both talent and longevity, and Hamels had both. When BBWAA members cast their Hall of Fame ballots, Hamels’ strikeout total should be a major point in his favor.
He was a postseason stalwart
Madison Bumgarner will forever be remembered as a postseason legend for his October heroics for the Giants in 2014. But not long before that, Hamels had a playoff run that -- while not quite as iconic as Bumgarner’s -- won’t soon be forgotten in Philadelphia.
Just 24 years old and in his third Major League season, Hamels was thrown into the fire in the 2008 postseason after the Phillies claimed their second straight NL East title. The lefty drew five playoff starts, taking the ball for Game 1 of the NLDS, Games 1 and 5 of the NLCS and Games 1 and 5 of the World Series. He finished with a 1.80 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 35 innings -- and Philadelphia won all five games.
Hamels was dominant from the jump that postseason, baffling the Brewers in the NLDS opener over eight scoreless innings and allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out nine. He picked up two wins over the Dodgers in the NLCS, going seven innings in each and closing things out in Game 5, before beating the Rays in Game 1 of the Fall Classic. Hamels might have gone longer than six innings in World Series Game 5, but the contest was suspended due to weather in the middle of the sixth and resumed two days later. (Phillies fans know how that one ended.)
Hamels was named both NLCS MVP and World Series MVP, one of nine players to win both accolades in the same season. Only four pitchers have done so: Orel Hershiser in 1988, Livan Hernandez in 1997, Hamels and Bumgarner.
While Hamels' 2008 postseason was impressive enough, he wasn’t done. In 2010, he twirled a shutout against the Reds in Cincinnati to finish off a three-game NLDS sweep, although his gem was a bit overshadowed by Roy Halladay’s historic no-hitter in Game 1. In all, the lefty made 16 career postseason starts with a 3.41 ERA. Among just 31 starters with 100 or more career playoff innings, Hamels’ ERA is better than that of several big-name aces, including Johnson (3.50), Verlander (3.58), Roger Clemens (3.75), Scherzer (3.78), Andy Pettitte (3.81) and Sabathia (4.28).
He compares well to recent Hall of Fame starters
Speaking of Sabathia, a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2025, the lefty is a pretty good comparison to Hamels. While Sabathia leads in counting statistics like innings pitched, wins, strikeouts and bWAR (62.3 to Hamels’ 59.0), Hamels’ rate stats are arguably more impressive.
Hamels’ 3.43 career ERA is considerably lower than Sabathia’s 3.74. Hamels’ ERA+ of 123 tops Sabathia’s 116 mark. Hamels had a higher strikeout rate and a lower walk rate than Sabathia, too.
This isn’t to say Hamels was clearly better than Sabathia, or that Sabathia didn’t deserve his spot in Cooperstown. Rather, the difference between the two shouldn’t be big enough to put Sabathia in on the first ballot and leave Hamels out entirely.
The case is similar with other recent Hall of Fame inductees, including Mike Mussina, who made it on the sixth ballot in 2019. While Mussina also leads in counting stats (his 82.8 WAR is significantly higher), his 3.68 ERA is worse than Hamels’, and the two pitchers are tied in ERA+ at 123.
Sure, Hamels -- with 163 career wins -- isn’t in the ballpark of 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts like Sabathia (251 W, 3,093 K) or Mussina (270 W 2,813 K), but few pitchers under consideration from this point forward likely will be. Verlander, Scherzer, Kershaw and Greinke are clear exceptions in the modern game, but in recent seasons, starters have been relied upon for fewer and fewer innings, lowering their chances to rack up wins and K’s like pitchers of the past.
Hamels’ prime came a bit before the current era, but his Hall of Fame resume likely will be similar to that of today’s top starters. He might have to wait a while, but with credentials that rival those of many starters already enshrined in Cooperstown, Hamels is a deserving candidate.