The one and only goal for Cole Hamels on Monday morning on a back field at Chicago White Sox camp was to hit his pitch count in his first game action of spring training.
“I needed 30 pitches,” pitching coach Doug Brocail said. “I got 30 pitches.”
Such is spring training for Hamels, an 11-year veteran who knows full well what it takes for him to be ready for Opening Day, which this season falls April 3.
Whether he’s awarded the opening start for the Texas Rangers against the Cleveland Indians hasn’t been decided, but he will start no later than April 4.