Cole Hamels, one of the most dominant left-handed pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), has called it quits.

“Hamels, a left-hander who was one of the best starting pitchers of his era during his 15-year Major League Baseball career, has been placed on the San Diego Padres’ voluntary retirement list,” MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, reported on Friday. The news of Hamels’ retirement was officially announced today after he signed a minor league deal with the Padres in February and hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since.

Born in 1983, Hamels was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 17th overall pick in the first round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft and made his big league debut in 2006. He proved to be a dominant starter, winning double-digit games in six straight years from 2007 (15) through 2012, including a career-high 17 wins in 2012. His career big league record is 423 games, 2698 innings, 163 wins, 122 losses, and a 3.43 ERA.

The highlight of Hamels’ career came in 2008, when he pitched in all five games of the National League Division Series (Game 1), the Championship Series, and the World Series (Game 2), going 35-4 with a 1.80 ERA and leading the team to the World Series title. He was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in both the Championship Series and World Series.

A four-time All-Star (2007, 2011, 2012, and 2016), Hamels was traded to the Texas Rangers during the 2015 season and later acquired by the Cubs in another trade.

As time went on, however, Hamels’ presence faded. He signed a short-term, one-year, $18 million deal with the Atlanta Braves after the 2019 season, but a shoulder injury limited him to just one game in the big leagues, and he didn’t appear in the big leagues again after being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in August 2021.먹튀검증

After a storied career and no big league appearances in the last two seasons, Hamels ultimately said goodbye to his favorite ballpark, deciding he couldn’t extend his career.