Rangers' Hamels on six-man rotation: 'It's not part of baseball'

Texas Rangers left-hander Cole Hamels is against the team's possible plan of using a six-man rotation this season, with the four-time All-Star saying "it's not part of baseball."

Entering his 13th season in the majors, Hamels made his position clear, adding "you might as well be in college."

Rangers manager Jeff Banister said that he is not yet fully committed to using the six-man rotation, but admitted the team is "exploring it."

"It's not part of baseball,'' Hamels said after working 2 1/3 innings in a spring training game Saturday against the San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale, Ariz. "I know that's the new analytical side of trying to reinvent the wheel, but I was brought up in the minor leagues on the five-man (rotation), and that's what I'm designed and conditioned for.

"That's the mental side of how you prepare, how you get ready for games, how you condition your body. You throw in the six-man, you might as well be in college. ... That's just not what MLB is to me. That's not how I learned from my mentors, and that's not the type of way that I'm here to pitch."

The 34-year-old Hamels went 11-6 with a 4.20 ERA in 148 innings over 24 starts with the Rangers last season.

The last time Hamels pitched fewer than 200 innings in a season came in 2009, when he logged 193 2/3 innings.

"Thirty-three or 34 starts are what I design; that's what my goal is and that's what I intend to do," Hamels said, per ESPN. "This is what I've done. I'm a guy that pitches 200 innings. I know that's something you don't see as often, but that's what's made me, and that's what I'm going to stick to."

Banister said he did not have a problem with Hamels criticizing the six-man rotation idea.

"I love the fact that Cole continues to talk about it, explore it, and we'll continue to explore anything that's going to help these guys get better in this organization," Banister said. "I love the fact that these guys have opinions on it -- they should. It's investment in themselves and in this team."

--Field Level Media