Cole Hamels might have been the best deadline acquisitions for the Chicago Cubs in the Theo Epstein era. The pitcher, who was once one of the most dominating starters in the game has gotten older but he showed he still has plenty in the tank. After coming over to the Cubs mid-summer, he led the staff to the playoffs, at times seemingly single-handedly. Now that he has resigned for the 2019 season it’s time to take a look at the stats that tell the story of his 2018 campaign and figure out what that means for next year.

Earned run average in-game outcomes

While it’s always going to be a safe bet that a pitcher is going to have a better ERA in games they win versus games they lose, Hamels’ ERA was astoundingly bi-polar. Between both the Cubs and the Rangers, Cole Hamels was dominant in games that he won. He posted an earned run average of 1.39 in games he won. On the flip side, his earned run average ballooned to 6.85 in games he lost. Perhaps the most interest stat of all is that he posted an ERA of 2.76 in games where he took a no-decision. All of that means he kept his team in games more often than not, but when he pitched poorly, the offense rarely picked him up.

Cole Hamels at home versus away

When the lefty was pitching for the Texas Rangers, his home versus away stats were quite a bit more pronounced.

It's clear that this stat is mostly about being away from Texas. That could actually be good news for Chicago Cubs fans. When he was out of Arlington, he was mostly a very good pitcher. At home in 2018, he was 2-9 with a 4.42 earned run average. On the road, Hamels was 7-3 with a 3.07 ERA. Luck of the draw and the schedule only had him pitching in Wrigley a handful of times.

He was still posting much better numbers in those few outings than he did with the Rangers. That 2-9 home record is very deceiving. There i, however,r one set of numbers that should give fans pause.

Chicago Cubs saw Hamels struggle in his last three starts

While most of the numbers explained why Cole Hamels was resigned, there are a couple that should give Cubs fans pause.

As the team struggled down the stretch, wins became harder to come by for the mid-season acquisition. Hamels lost his final three starts though he didn't pitch all that poorly down the stretch. He did get shelled against the Arizona Diamondbacks but the Chicago Cubs scored, at most, one run in each of his final outings. That's something the team is going to have to find a fix for if they want to see more success in 2019.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED