“Why would i want to go where fans only support you from the 3rd inn. thru the 6th?’” was the grammatically poor tweet that CBS’ Jon Heyman used as an explanation for why Cole Hamels will not be returning to San Diego as a free agent to play for the home town Padres.
Now that we know Heyman didn’t major in English, we can move onto to the real point and that is if Hollywood should return to the West Coast, it won’t be to Padres.
Hamels grew up in San Diego and despite pleas from his parents, the two-time All Star will not be returning home, even if they are the highest bidders.
The Padres have this weird thing they do where they don’t resign any big name players that they groom to help their team win. Hamels kept harping on Adrian Gonzalez, but the process goes even farther to names like Jake Peavy and more recently Heath Bell who left the team as free agents.
San Diego’s ticket prices are 25-percent less than Major League Baseball’s average, but they still have troubled filling the stands at Petco Park. Hamels doesn’t want to be stuck with such vacillating fans that are willing to leave games when one pitch goes awry.
“The only thing I can say is, I speak from experience,” Hamels told UT San Diego’s Chris Jenkins. “I know how fickle the fans are. I grew up one. I was a huge Padres fan in ’98.”
He remembered being an eighth grader playing a summer league game when all of a sudden the radio overshadowed the field and Jim Leyritz stepped up to the plate against the Houston Astros. Leyritz hit a monster homerun that proved to be the difference in the game and despite Hamels’ own team losing, he distinctly remembers him and teammates jumping around the field, high fiving as the announcer wailed through Carmel Mountain about Leyritz’s clutch homer.
His passion for the hometown ball team ended there. The power lefty considers himself alienated from San Diego and although he says they have a “1-30” chance of signing him, their chances are a bit more like 1-3000.
Everyone keeps talking about how Hamels is the highest valued free agent this offseason and how all he wants is to find the highest bidder. But if Hollywood keeps scratching team names off his list because their fan base isn’t as prominent as the ones who pack Citizen’s Bank Park whenever he cleans his cleats and tosses a powdered bag behind rubber, his list is going to be very short. He may have grown up in San Diego but Philadelphia is his home now and Hollywood and the Phils are a match made in heaven.
CAUSE WE CAN’T SCORE!!!
Average temp is 75 rarely get more then 85 or less then 65 – you can go to the beach on Xmas and New Years, the babes are hot, beautiful ballpark in downtown, world famous beaches – and the babes are hot, It is always sunny and warm with a pleasant breeze – oh yeah – and the babes are hot – plus he grew up in SD – and don;t forget – the babes are hot!
Phillies, HAmels and everyone else better worry about getting some Run Support first or this Season is down the drain..
Phils commit 3 Errors, 2 by Pitchers Blanton and SAvery and 1 by Thome
Phils Pinch-Hit 3 times during the game and all 3 batters (Orr, Mayberry & Nic Strike Out)… This is brutal and downright embarrasing to watch and it’s diifficult to fathom that the Phillies have the 2nd Highest Payroll in the entire MLB with this line-up… very poor contracts and Roster Management Decisions for the last 2 Seasons has finally caught to the Phightin’ Phils which now are known about baseball circles as “Phils Ultra Lite”.. Brutal..
I fear that as the Season goes by, more talk and concern will be whether Hamels Signs a Deal or goes Free-agency more than how the 2012 Team is actually playing.. A needless Distraction on a Team that has many other issues for 2012 and for future seasons…
There is no such thing as a San Diego fan base. I love living out here (my whole life), but for a die hard sports fanatic it’s a disgrace. It’s a paradise for tourist and the residents treat Padres/Chargers games as an attraction. Listening to “sports talk radio” out here is embarrassing, the kids where you live already forgot more than these peeps can comprehend. This is why I’m taking over like Jim Rome did, although I have my own style and a mid-west background!
If you care, I’m a sports broadcast journalist major, have my awol sports blog on wordpress, and that blog netted me a job so I’m the Editor for the Miami Heat on the FanSided network at All U Can Heat (just a job, not my favorite team, gotta start somewhere).
If you don’t care, well Cole Hamels is right. I went to the game Friday night when he pitched, Petco Park was half full (I’m an optimist lol) and there were more Phillies fans./ The cool part was my buddy is a big Phils fan and bought my ticket. Here’s another thing, we were sitting to these 2 couples around my age (25) and the guys were tools and left the girls alone for a half hour. They proceeded to get at my friend and myself, it felt like a movie with the people surrounding zoning in on us instead of the game lol.
Anyways, felt like sharing, can’t wait for the draft on Thursday! I think we’re getting DL Brockers in the first although I want DB Barron. I would like OLB McClellin and WR Jeffrey in the 2nd. (Yes I’m an Eagles fan since the age of 2, got family from Philly and would love to replace those scrubs on the team’s official website lol)
Ain’t happening. Look for him to be resigned & Lee traded again. Bank on it. You heard it here first.
Your 100% correct Awol. I too live here in So Cal (Carlsbad) and the fans here are half ass. I own a sports bar in Oceanside (Eagles bar to be exact) and i can’t pack the house with Padres fans even if i were giving something away to entice fans to watch the games. It’s actually embarrassing. Fans will support the Chargers only if they are winning though lol. Anyways, Hamels isn’t coming to SD. Padres aren’t interested in winning. As long as more of the opposing teams fans out number the home team fans, then why spend money to retain players? Small market teams never succeed.
@DCar I was gonna post the same yesterday. But then Im thinking if I was Cliff Lee Im pretty sure I was holding all the cards last year. So that means I probably have a no trade clause or something in that effect in my contract. But yes the logical thing to do would be trade Lee for some teams bonafide top prospects and resign your home grown WS winning younger stud lefthander Hamels.
2nd highest payroll in baseball and roll out a lineup like this. Yes it is comical Paulman. Reuben has alot of explaining to do.
and besides, the Padres and Phils will probably be last place teams, so whats the difference.. Hamels gets to Pitch in his hometown and at a real Pitchers PArk improving his chances for more victories… I really think he will end up as a LA Dodger who finally have some $$$ to spend after their ownership change..
Dodgers have a very good young team and core of players who are all in their Prime right now (Kershaw,Billingsly, Ethier, Kemp,Castro, Loney, etc,etc) and are similar to what the Phils were 3-4 years ago…
If Lee struggles and or continues to have some heatlh issues, his Value will go down due to his age and his Salary Contract.. Maybe the Red Sox or Blue Jays would love to have him and could probably afford him if they have a chance to make make a playoff run..
This team’s offense is absolutely dreadful & painfully, nauseating to watch. They are starting to rival those awesome teams from the 90’s. They need MAJOR help, with ZERO viable options. If nothing changes soon, heads need to start rolling. If not, this season is over before it started. We can all get those WS aspirations out of our heads. That ain’t happening.
dman – do you have a website or directions? ill come by…
Dman – I live down in Coronado – I would love to come up and catch a game at your place – you doing any type of draft party?
Awol – where do you go to school?
Wow, something I can actually agree on with navy…a miracle in and of itself. San Diego is beautiful it like the land of milk and honey that’s reason enough to want to go there, but he’s from there. He can go back whenever he likes. While it doesn’t look like it right now the Phillies organization still is one of the better places to be if he wants to win consistently over the next several years. He doesn’t really strike me as a Werth type of guy.
Butch – and you look so much smarter today for it brother – hang in there – draft is THIS week – nned to get three solid D players in first two rounds…..
Navy, how are the Babes out there? LOL!
BTW, the draft can’t get here fast enough for me. I’m tired of all of this nonsensical, bitching back & forth between everyone. The Sixers are frauds, the Phillies are decaying right before our eyes, the Flyboys are advancing, the draft is 2 days away, & we are still arguing about the same $#!T, that we will never agree on. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Only in Philly. GO FLYBOYS!!! GO DRAFT!!! RIP PHILLIES!!! FU SIXERS!!!
its routine to see beautiful women out here, I go to Palomar and live in Escondido. I didn’t know a few of you guys live out West too, that’s great I’m down to meet up and catch a game at dman’s bar. my best friend is from philly, we watch the birds every sunday, more the merrier fellas!
just need dman to to tell us the place!