CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Cole Hamels went from being the man on the Philadelphia Phillies to just one of the guys in a star-studded rotation.
Hamels was the main reason the Phillies won the second world championship in franchise history in 2008. He was MVP of the World Series and NLCS, going 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five postseason starts.
Now the former ace is a No. 4 starter. That’s no knock against Hamels, however. He could be the No. 1 pitcher on plenty of teams. But the Phillies have assembled a starting staff that could eventually go down as one of the best in major league history.
In front of Hamels are Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt. They’ve got three Cy Young Awards, 12 All-Star game appearances and six 20-win seasons on their collective resume. After Hamels, there’s Joe Blanton.
So, the lanky lefty has no problem accepting his role.
