One Time Dodgers Pitcher Announces Retirement Amid Comeback Attempt

After numerous comeback attempts, this pitcher is hanging up his spikes for good.

Stop me if you heard this one before. Cole Hamels took a team's money and didn't pitch for them. After a few comeback attempts that proved to be unfruitful with the Dodgers, Hamels signed a deal with the Padres this past offseason with the declaration that he was ready to go and would pitch again this season.

The lie detector test determined that was a lie.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported this week that Hamels is officially hanging up his spikes for good. 

World Series champion Cole Hamels, who valiantly tried for one more comeback, has called it a career and is retiring along with #Padres teammate Craig Stammen. They have officially been placed on the voluntarily retired list.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 4, 2023

The former World Series MVP with the Phillies hadn't appeared in a major league game since 2020 and has been battling a number of shoulder issues over the last few years. He had rotator cuff surgery that year and had hoped to return in 2021. In August of that year, he signed a 1 year, $1 million deal with the Dodgers and never threw a pitch for the organization.

It's not the way Hamels hoped his career would end but it buttons up what was a really good big league career. He retires with a 163-122 lifetime record along with a 3.43 ERA over 423 games. Hamels was a four time All-Star and a World Series champion with the 2008 Phillies.