Cole Hamels Enjoys Watching Dom Brown 'Get Comfortable'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The 2008 Phillies were fueled by players who were products of the organization. Cole Hamels, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Ryan Howard among others all came up through the Phillies system and blossomed.
It's been a while since a player has come up through the Phillies farm system and became a stand-out at the big league level, but Domonic Brown is changing that.
After a month of May that saw Brown hit 15 home runs, and take over the league lead in that category, Brown looks to be the first Phillies prospect in several years to be a productive every day player for the team.
"I just think it takes somebody to kind of get, just comfortable," Cole Hamels told Angelo Cataldi and the 94WIP Morning Show about Brown. It has been several years of up and down for Brown, splitting time between the Phillies and their minor-league teams. A few injuries along the way didn't help matters either.
"You're not worrying about the outside forces of going up-down, up-down, if you don't perform," Hamels said. "Just feeling comfortable knowing that you're confident that you're going to be there, you're going to get a shot, and you get a chance to just be yourself and I think that's kind of what's hard. When you pull guys up---our ultimate goal is to get to the big leagues, it's very difficult to stay because they have that anxiety of not wanting to get sent back down. Once they get over it, then they're able to be themselves and then you get to see what type of player they actually are. Dom Brown has always been like that, now for him to feel comfortable enough to be himself, now he is putting on the show we always knew he was capable of doing."
Hamels, the star pitching product of the organization, has struggled this season. It hasn't been all Hamels' fault, he's had his share of bad luck, but he hasn't been the same dominating pitcher he has for the last two years.
"It's definitely just shows what baseball can really throw your way," Hamels said. "Things don't always go perfectly, but still you really just have to kind of just keep a good plan, and a good routine, and stick with it, and not get down because---you just can't feel sorry for yourself. This game is something that is enjoyable, but at the same time what makes it enjoyable is all the hard work that you put into it and then obviously the results will come. "
