Cole Hamels - Biography

Who is Cole Hamels?

Cole Hamels is a baseball player by profession and American by nationality. He is currently a pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB), having played for Philadelphia Phillies,  Texas Rangers, and Chicago Cubs.

Cole Hamels – Bio, Age, Parents, Siblings

Cole Hamels’ birth took place on December 27, 1983, in San Diego, California, USA. He was born Colbert Michael Hamels to his mother Amanda Hamels and his father Gary Hamels. 

He is not the only child of his parents and has two siblings, among which he is the oldest. His brother is named Mitchell Hamels and his sister is named Jillian Hamels. All three were raised in San Diego.

Cole Hamels with his parents during high school graduation in 2002 (Times of San Diego)

Education, Ethnicity

For education, Cole Hamels attended Rancho Bernardo High School where he was a “gifted student” and graduated in 2002.

His ethnicity is Dutch.

Cole Hamels – Girlfriend, Wife, Children

Cole Hamels married his longtime girlfriend Heidi Strobel on December 31, 2006. He and his wife have four children together – sons Braxton Hamels (November 2, 2011), Caleb Hamels (born October 9, 2009), daughter Mackenzie Hamels (born November 30, 2016), and an adopted daughter Reeve Hamels (adopted from Ethiopia in 2012).

The couple is living without rumors of extra-marital affairs, or divorce and continuing to raise their children in Philadelphia.

Also read: Ryan Howard - Baseball player 

Cole Hamels – Career

Drafted in 2002

While still in high school many teams were interested in drafting Cole Hamels. However, during his sophomore year, he broke his left humerus which led to some teams losing interest in him. 

Eventually, Hamels was drafted in the 2002 Major League Baseball by Philadelphia Phillies in the first round and the 17th overall selection.

Minor leagues

Cole Hamels began his professional career in 2003 by pitching in South Atlantic League’s Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. 

Later in the same season, he was promoted to play for Class A-Advanced Florida State League in the Clearwater Threshers. However several injuries left him unable to play for the next two seasons.

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Major Leagues

Finally in May of 2006 Cole Hamels was called up to pitch for Philadelphia Phillies. He played for the team for almost 10 years – from 2006 to 2015. During those years he was awarded three All-Star (2007, 2011, 2012) and named World Series champion (2008), World Series MVP (2008), and NLCS MVP (2008).

On July 31, 2015, Cole Hamels was traded to Texas Rangers and played for the team from 2015 to 2018. In 2016 he was again awarded All-Star Award. After more than 3 seasons with the Rangers, Hamels was traded to Chicago Cubs on July 27, 2018, and on December 4, 2019, Cole Hamels signed a one-year, $18 million contract with the Atlanta Braves.

Cole Hamels – The Hamel Foundation

Hamel is also actively involved in philanthropic work. He and his wife run an organization known as The Hamels Foundation, which was founded in 2008. The foundation funds childhood programs in both Philadelphia and Africa.

In 2017 the Hamels donated a $10 million 32,000 square-foot Missouri mansion to a Christian charity group Camp Barnabas. The group runs camps for children with special needs and chronic illnesses. 

Also read: Kevin Pillar - Baseball player 

Cole Hamels (Image: Phillia Nation)

Cole Hamels – Net Worth, Salary

His net worth is estimated at around $60 Million while his annual salary with the Atlanta Braves has been revealed to be around $18 million.

Cole Hamels – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On social media, Cole Hamels is active on Twitter and Instagram with thousands of followers while an unverified Facebook page with his name has more than 50k followers. He also owns an official website - colehamels.com.

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