Cole Hamels coaches up Andrew Painter: ‘He’s very receptive’

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Cole Hamels on Tuesday spent his final day of his first trip to Phillies camp as a guest instructor conversing with two of the most important arms in the organization.

He chatted with Zack Wheeler as the two overlooked a group of Phillies pitchers stretching on the backfields. Hamels later moved to the mounds in the back of the Carpenter Complex to catch the back end of Andrew Painter’s second bullpen session.

Afterwards, we got one the more memorable images from Phillies camp so far. Hamels, a former first-round pick and one of the greatest homegrown pitchers in Phillies history, was talking pitch grips with Painter.

Was he showing him his signature circle change grip? Hamels was actually asking Painter about his own grips.

“Basically, it’s just how long you stick with something as you’re trying to figure out a new pitch,” Hamels said. “How you learned it? How long did you mess around with it before you started to search for something else? And so that was kind of it. I was asking why and how he went to that certain grip and what he’s trying to do with it, and then how long he plans to stick with it. If it works, great. Just in how to tinker with something and the when and where.

“I think he’s very receptive. He knows that he’s gonna be known for a high powering fastball. It’s just what he can learn down here to practice before he gets up there. And just understanding the weapons in his arsenal and then how to actually execute it.”

There’s something cool about seeing the two Phillies pitchers together. Hamels, a first-round draft pick in 2002, broke his arm during his junior year of high school, came back and immediately lived up to the hype. He debuted in 2006 at 22 and was the World Series MVP at 24.

If Painter, who has missed the last two years after undergoing Tommy John surgery, has as good of a career in a Phillies uniform as Hamels did, consider that an incredible outcome.

The expectations won’t be as high for Painter coming out of the gate. He will make his debut mid-season and won’t be expected to carry the Phillies rotation the way Hamels did. Barring health, veterans Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez will be ahead of him in the depth chart.

There’s a different feel to Painter’s spring training than the one two years prior when he was trying to win a job straight out of camp as a 19-year-old. He knows that if he stays healthy, the Phillies are going to find a way for him to contribute down the stretch.

2023 was Painter’s time to show off. He opened eyes during a live BP session against the Phillies top hitters and amazed in his only Grapefruit League appearance against the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers. Carlos Correa called him a future star.

Hamels had a similar moment in 2004, when he struck out both Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez in a Grapefruit League game.

“But once I established that, then it was go about what I need to do to be great and how I can maintain that,” Hamels said. “And you stay subtle. I think he let everybody know who he was early and now it’s all right, this is long term. It doesn’t need to just be a hot shot right at the very beginning and let it fade out. He wants to do it for a long time.”

This will likely not be the last time Hamels sees Painter this season. Hamels will be back in camp next month. He is also expected to visit the minor league affiliates during the regular season as part of his role as a special advisor to baseball operations.

The two will get to know each other.

“He wants to be good,” Hamels said. “I think you can definitely tell that he wants to be good. He just needs to get the experience and he understands that. I like how he goes about his business. He’s not trying to go outside of himself to prove to everybody. I think that’s sometimes when you get labels and the expectations, you want to show people why they gave it to you all the time. And I think he’s going through a very good process in staying within himself to take care of his work.”