Say Goodbye to Hollywood: A Tribute to Cole Hamels

The FanGraphs Newsletter, August 7, 2023 [READ IN BROWSER]( August 7, 2023 Cole Hamels retired from baseball on Friday, causing significant consternation to people who read that headline and thought they’d been transported back in time to the winter of 2019. (Buy a house now, while you still can, and be sure to stock up on hand sanitizer.) It’s been four years since Hamels pitched effectively in the major leagues; before the 2020 season, he signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves, and was limited to just 3 1/3 innings by injuries to his triceps and shoulder. Two further comeback attempts, with the Dodgers and his hometown Padres, came to nothing. Hamels never quite recovered from a 2021 surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, [and was still unable to throw without pain when he decided]( at age 39, that he’d finally had enough. Hamels, the 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP, will probably appear on just one Hall of Fame ballot. But few players’ reputations suffered more by comparison to their immediate surroundings than Hamels’ did; he was one or two breaks from giving a speech in Cooperstown someday, even if nobody realized it at the time. [Say Goodbye to Hollywood: A Tribute to Cole Hamels, by Michael Baumann]( [The Diamondbacks Have Wilted in the Heat of a Playoff Race]( After spending much of the first half atop the NL West, Arizona hasn't been able to buy a win lately. | by Jay Jaffe [The Cy Young Races Are Up In the Air]( If the season ended today, five or six pitchers could earn first-place votes in either league. So who's got the best case? | by Leo Morgenstern [FanGraphs Power Rankings: July 31–August 6]( With the trade deadline in the rear-view mirror, here are the first FanGraphs Power Rankings in August. | by Jake Mailhot [Sunday Notes: Jackson Jobe Has a Jacob deGrom-like Cutter]( Plus Garrett Cooper vs Giancarlo Stanton on the hardwood, C.J.. Nitkowski's toughest matchup, Shea Langeliers on power arms, facts and stats galore, and more. | by David Laurila [The Yankees Lose Germán and Rizzo Amid a Miserable Week]( The handling of two unrelated matters calls into question the team's leadership, from top to bottom. | by Jay Jaffe [Slade Cecconi's First Career Strikeout]( Every pitcher remembers the first batter they've ever faced. But not every pitcher strikes that batter out on a foul tip that buries itself in the catcher's crotch. | by Davy Andrews [Andrew Abbott Is Living the High Life]( Abbott might be the best pitcher in the league at getting outs in the air with his breaking and off-speed stuff. Now he has to carry Cincinnati's rotation for the next month. | by Michael Baumann 🎧 [Effectively Wild Episode 2042: Pure Happenstance]( [DOWNLOAD THE FANGRAPHS APP]( [FanGraphs & Effectively Wild Merch Is Now Available at BreakingT!]( [ORDER HERE]( [Early 2023 MLB free agency rankings: Ohtani leads our top 10]( by Kiley McDaniel, ESPN ($) [Bryan Woo’s Repertoire Is The Blueprint For Modern Pitching]( by Jack Foley, Pitcher List [5 series to watch with plenty of postseason implications]( by Manny Randhawa, MLB [As Angels hit low point, a look at the games they should have won]( by Sam Blum, The Athletic ($) [@fangraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [RSS]( [FORWARD]( [SUBSCRIBE]( Copyright © 2023 FanGraphs Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the FanGraphs Newsletter. Our mailing address is: FanGraphs Inc 1200 N Hartford St. Apt 312Arlington, Va 22201 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](