Halladay on Hamels
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Roy Halladay will rarely discuss specific teammates, expect for the rare time he bestows labels like "The National League's Derek Jeter" on Chase Utley. But Halladay surprisingly fielded a question about Cole Hamels' impending free agency and answered thoughtfully.
Halladay on Hamels
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Roy Halladay will rarely discuss specific teammates, expect for the rare time he bestows labels like "The National League's Derek Jeter" on Chase Utley. But Halladay surprisingly fielded a question about Cole Hamels' impending free agency and answered thoughtfully.
“You never know what the future holds," Halladay said. "I think the biggest unknown for any pitcher is health. But the ability, the talent – it's all there. It's all there and he's shown that. His knowledge, maturity – everything is above and beyond.
"He's a big part of this team and I think that is going to be the priority, having him here. He's obviously been a franchise player since Day 1 and hopefully that continues. I think it's tough when it's a first major contract for a player. You have to do the best you can for yourself and your family, and I understand that. That makes negotiations sometimes maybe tough. You want to do the best you can. But I feel like Cole and the Phillies both are going to do the best that they can. I don't think either one is out to get the other.
"I'd love to see him here as long as he possibly can be here. He deserves it. He's been here through all the winning years and hopefully he gets to continue that."
That got us wondering: How do Halladay and Hamels stack up through their first six full seasons?
| Player | IP | GS | CG | From | To | SHO | W | L | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Hamels | 1161.1 | 180 | 10 | 2006 | 2011 | 4 | 74 | 54 | 1033 | 464 | 438 | 292 | 1091 | 3.39 | 126 | .237 | .682 |
| Roy Halladay | 974.2 | 140 | 15 | 1998 | 2004 | 6 | 67 | 39 | 985 | 478 | 421 | 281 | 702 | 3.89 | 123 | .260 | .703 |
Both were 27 after their sixth full season. Halladay's path toward greatness, sidetracked by a career-changing demotion to the minors, has looked nothing like Hamels'.
Since 2004, Halladay's sixth full season, he has earned $102 million in guaranteed salary. He's due another $40 million over the next two years with another $20 million option for 2014.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Hamels is as good as any pitcher in the majors. With some luck last year he would have had stupendous numbers. The Phillies need to lock this kid up.— Ron
Comment removed.- the question is, roy: do YOU want to stay here after your contract is up? given the abysmal performance of our offense in the postseason since youve gotten here and the absolute cluelessness of amaro and manuel on how to turn things around, i would not blame you if you cant wait to leave philly— zwarte piet
- By the numbers above, Hamels is as much an ace as Roy Halladay. Show the man the money!— gotedge
- He's worth at least as much as any other starter, someone will give it to hom, let's hope it's the Phils for the next few years at least! Just sayin'...— DJ
- The offense is not the reason the Phils lost the series. It was Cliff Lee blowing a 4 run lead. If he holds on to that game, the Phils sweep the Cards and nobody says anything about that last game when they couldn't score. They did score the most runs in the NL last year.— hoyaray
- Pay him the Money!!— philsfansince1946
- RAJ is not stupid...he will lock up Cole for a long time.— Tartan69
- Give him what he wants withing reason. Nothing else there to discuss.— likhon
- "RAJ is not stupid"
Other than overpaying for Howard and Papelbon, I guess that's true.— fmMD - Great piece on two great reasons to head to CBP to watch a game - watching these men at work is a joy. Soryy that "black pete" & "the doc" feel the need to vent their spleen. There's a few other teams you might root for - I hear the Nats have a huge offense & the Mets haven't overpaid for anyone in quite a while. Of course, there's always the Pirates...grow up. Hamels is worth a contract reflecting his performance & Howard & Papelbon have yet to step between the lines this year. Let the players play this season, stop crying about last year or two years ago or three or how we could never win it all in 2008 without Bowa's fire, Wagner's fastball or Rowand's hustle.— Ed3
- The difference is Halladay never had elbow surgery at any age and Cole has at a relatively young age......comparing one for or against the other now goes out the window. Let's see how it turns out this year. I hope well, but I'm holding my breath.........and have my worries. Loose bodies are a degenerative condition. It doesn't get better.— Mark1npt
- Please just get Hamels signed to a long-term contract - the suspense is driving me nuts!— starbird3
