Mike Hampton

I'm sure a lot of people have been asking the same question - what happened to Mike Hampton? A couple of years ago, he looked like one of the best pitchers in the league. Since he's a sinker ball pitcher, I didn't figure he'd be affected as much by Coors Field as say, Denny Neagle who gets a lot of fly ball outs. Does the altitude have that much of an effect on sinker balls? Or is it that Hampton's mind has been messed up?

When Hampton became a free agent, I hoped he'd end up signing with the Braves. After all, a lot of his former Houston teammates said that he wanted to play for the Braves. Plus, if he joined Maddux and Glavine, that would have been something to see. At that time, I thought Hampton had a fair chance of putting together a Hall of Fame career. That's obviously not the case now. Was Hampton just lucky with the Astros and Mets or did going to Colorado really hurt his pitching? If it's the latter, it's a shame to see how a guy hurt his career by going for the big bucks. A co-worker of mine thought he made the right decision in going for as much $$ as he could get. Personally, I would rather go to a team that (1) would have a good chance of getting to the World Series and winning it and (2) would enhance my chances of getting to the Hall. After all, 20 years from now, no one's going to remember how much $$ you made in the game. Instead, they'd remember if you won a few rings and made it to Cooperstown. Plus, it's not like he'd have gotten paid peanuts elsewhere and wouldn't be able to provide for his family.

[KCBOOMER]

As you recalled he struggled for the first third of a season with the Mets before righting the ship.

It looks like he has lost a little velocity and this is permitting the hitters to better judge his low slider.

Daryll Kile Jr.

I think Colorado is really that awful for a pitcher's psyche.

[sweaver]

While recent events have rendered Johnny's comment somewhat apropos, the question of Hampton remains. He is on the block, and appparently somewhat in demand. Would you want him on your favorite team?

[VNV Nation]

I would definitely take him. Left-handed pitching is always at a premium. I think someone like Seattle should take a shot at him. I don't think he'd cost much at this point.

As a side note...There are lots of theories on what kind of pitcher would succeed in Coors...since there really haven't been any successful pitchers there, it's still an open question. My opinion...you want the best K-W pitchers available. you want a guy who doesn't walk people, and someone who keeps the other team from putting the ball in play.

[Gosfgiants]

I saw Hampton pitch on Friday night. He pitched a pretty good game despite giving up a two run shot. There was one point in the game where he had twenty less pitches than the Giants starter (Livian Hernandez), but was losing the game. He did have bad inning late, but it was his defense did him in by making two errors.

I think if he ends up on a contendor, he can help that team. Coors Field has messed him up despite being a sinker ball pitcher.

[Pilgrim]

I would love to see Hampton get dealt to the Cardinals and follow in the steps of his friend, Darryl Kile.....he was close to signing with the Cards when he was a free agent and I think he and Morris can be a formidable 1-2 punch for the next couple of years and that Dave Duncan will help straighten out his head.

[TGwynn19]

Originally posted by VNV Nation


As a side note...There are lots of theories on what kind of pitcher would succeed in Coors...since there really haven't been any successful pitchers there, it's still an open question. My opinion...you want the best K-W pitchers available. you want a guy who doesn't walk people, and someone who keeps the other team from putting the ball in play.

Not to be a complete smarty pants...but do ya' think? The only problem with that theory is there are only about 8 pitchers in MLB that fit that mold.

My theory ( and feel free to rip me too ) about being successful in Coors is you have to have a short memory and not care about personal stats. I could see a pitcher having a 18-6 record with a 6.1 ERA there. If you could find a pitcher who could work through giving up 5 runs early and battle back, then you could have a good Coors pitcher. The only problem is he might have to be on a 175 pitch count.

[Craig S.]

Originally posted by TGwynn19
My theory ( and feel free to rip me too ) about being successful in Coors is you have to have a short memory and not care about personal stats. I could see a pitcher having a 18-6 record with a 6.1 ERA there. If you could find a pitcher who could work through giving up 5 runs early and battle back, then you could have a good Coors pitcher. The only problem is he might have to be on a 175 pitch count.

I think you're right. Unfortunately, guys like that are hard to find. Lots of guys like to talk about how winning matters, and how stats don't count, but it's gotta' be disheartening giving up so many runs all the time, even if you get the wins.

[VNV Nation]

Well...I think strikeout pitchers are more important in Coors. You can be successful and give up 45 homers a year, it's harder to be successful if you gives up a .290 batting average.

[sweaver]

Hey guys, "What type of pitcher would be successful in Coors" would be a separate thread.

I don't think I would want Hampton for the stretch run, as much as the Reds could use another starter. It will take him some time, I think, to get over the shell-shock. I'd rather have him next spring.

[Sal Maglie]

At this point, and especially with the strike/lockout looming, would any other team want to take on Hampton's contract? I don't think so, not without Colorado eating about half of the money. Just his signing bonus of $20 million, deferred until the end of 2008, makes it difficult to trade him. And he's still owed over $80 million on top of that. That's a huge risk for a team to take on a pitcher with Hampton's numbers, Coors or not.

After seeing what has happened with Kevin Brown, and now Chan Ho Park, my own theory says that the days of any contract longer than 5 years for a pitcher is a thing of the past, and rightfully so. I think the Astros and Mariners have the right idea about contract lengths for pitchers.

[Skip]

Originally posted by Sal Maglie
After seeing what has happened with Kevin Brown, and now Chan Ho Park, my own theory says that the days of any contract longer than 5 years for a pitcher is a thing of the past, and rightfully so.

Amen to that.

[sweaver]

This lesson has been learned and relearned several times. Hard to see it sticking anytime soon.

[VNV Nation]

Originally posted by sweaver
This lesson has been learned and relearned several times. Hard to see it sticking anytime soon.

Yeah, can you say Don Gullett, Andy Messersmith, Dave Goltz?