Colbert Michael "Cole" Hamels (born December 27, 1983) is a free agent American professional baseball pitcher. He has played for the Philadelphia Phillies (2006–2015), Texas Rangers (2015–2018), Chicago Cubs (2018–2019), and Atlanta Braves in Major League Baseball (MLB). The Phillies selected him with the eighth pick of the 2006 MLB draft. He debuted on August 24, 2006, against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. In this game he got his first career win after pitching seven innings while giving up two runs on six hits and one walk while striking out five. The Phils would go on to lose 1-4 that day in front of a crowd of 44,622. This was also his first start of the season and not a relief appearance. Hamels is an ace pitcher who has won multiple awards including the National League MVP Award and the Cy Young Award. He has also been named to three All-Star Games (2010, 2012, 2014). As of 2019, his career record is 180-96 with a 3.72 ERA in 381 games (four seasons, 181 games started). He has 1240 strikeouts in 1588.2 innings pitched. Hamels has been praised for his command of all four pitches he uses: two-seam fastball, cutter, curveball, and changeup.