Mike Hampton

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Hampton went 14–13 with a 5.41 ERA in 2001, often struggling with control problems. He ranked 9th in the NL in walks issued. The next season, 2002, Hampton went 7–15 with his ERA climbing to a league-high 6.15 and batters hitting .313 off of him. Coors Field at the time was one of the most hitter-friendly parks in MLB history during Hampton's tenure with the Rockies. Park-adjusted statistics such as ERA- and FIP- suggest Hampton was below average but not the worst pitcher in the majors while with the Rockies. His best all-around offensive season came in 2001 with Colorado, when he hit .291 with seven home runs. The next year he hit three home runs and batted .344, the third highest batting average for a pitcher in a season in the DH era. From 1999 to 2003, Hampton won five consecutive Silver Slugger Awards.

In Their Own Story

The thin air of Coors Field carried every fastball a little farther, every curveball a little flatter. Mike Hampton, who had posted a 22–4 record and 2.90 ERA with the Astros in 1999, now found himself battling his own mechanics. In 2001, he walked more batters than ever before, ranking 9th in the NL in walks issued. By 2002, his ERA ballooned to a league-high 6.15, and hitters teed off at a .313 clip. Yet at the plate, Hampton was a different story. In 2001, he crushed seven home runs and batted .291. In 2002, he hit .344 — the third highest batting average for a pitcher in a season in the DH era. The Rockies had hoped their $121 million man would tame Coors Field. Instead, the park tamed him.

Reader's Guide

Hampton's two seasons with the Rockies were defined by struggle and contradiction. On the mound, he was a different pitcher than the one who had nearly won the Cy Young in 1999. His 5.41 ERA in 2001 and 6.15 ERA in 2002 reflected the difficulty of pitching at Coors Field, one of the most hitter-friendly parks in MLB history. Park-adjusted stats like ERA- and FIP- suggest he was below average but not the worst pitcher in the majors during his Rockies tenure. At the plate, however, Hampton was exceptional. His .344 batting average in 2002 ranks as the third highest for a pitcher in a season in the DH era. He won Silver Slugger Awards in both 2001 and 2002, part of a streak of five consecutive such awards from 1999 to 2003. His seven home runs in 2001 were a career high. Hampton's time in Colorado ended when the Rockies traded him to the Florida Marlins on November 16, 2002, along with Juan Pierre and cash, for Charles Johnson, Preston Wilson, Vic Darensbourg, and Pablo Ozuna. Two days later, the Marlins flipped Hampton to the Atlanta Braves.

Did You Know?

• Hampton's eight-year, $121 million contract with the Rockies was the largest in baseball history at the time, though it was surpassed by Alex Rodríguez's ten-year, $252 million contract just two days later.
• Hampton once claimed he chose to move to Colorado because of 'the school system,' a statement derided by baseball executive Sandy Alderson and sportswriters.
• In 2002, Hampton batted .344, the third highest batting average for a pitcher in a season in the DH era.
• Hampton hit seven home runs for the Rockies in 2001, his best single-season total.
• Hampton won five consecutive Silver Slugger Awards from 1999 to 2003, the most for any pitcher.