Mike Hampton pitching for the Astros this past March in Spring Training.
photo by Tim Evearitt
ATLANTA -- Mike Hampton makes his return to Turner Field to oppose Derek Lowe and the Braves on Friday night.
Over the course of his final two seasons in Atlanta, the Braves paid Mike Hampton $44.5 million and saw him prove healthy enough to make just 25 starts. Projected as a determined pitcher who would stand on the mound every five days, the veteran left-hander instead became a regular inhabitant of the trainers' room.
Hampton declined a significant offer from the Braves and opted to sign a one-year, $2 million contract with the Astros in December.
"I have to thank the Braves for everything that they did for me," Hampton said. "They did everything right and I really enjoyed being around all of the guys in that clubhouse. But I wanted to be closer to my family."
While Hampton has tried to downplay his start Friday, Astros pitching coach Dewey Robinson believes Hampton will be especially fired up for the game.
While developing a close bond with Hampton over the past four years, Braves right-hander Tim Hudson saw the daily frustration that consumed his friend. But it wasn't until Hudson had to undergo the same Tommy John surgical procedure last year that he understood the depths of the misery.
"You really don't know what's it's like until you've walked in somebody else's shoes," Hudson said. "After I got hurt last year, there were days when I was ashamed to come to the park to pick up my check. It was miserable and I only had to deal with it for a couple of months.
Instead of pointing toward a change of scenery, Hampton has continued to simply say that he wanted to be closer to his children, who reside with their mother in Phoenix, Ariz. But given that he could have reached that destination on a plane in nearly equal time from either Houston or Atlanta, the Braves have simply held the belief that the pitcher's ex-wife played a large role in his decision.
Whether Kautia Hampton simply wanted the veteran pitcher out of Atlanta or at least one time zone closer to her children is unknown.
But some of Hampton's closest friends say there's no disputing the reality that he's certainly much happier than he was last year, when he was dealing with his prolonged injury woes and simultaneously going through a divorce.
Truly, the most encouraging aspect of Hampton's new situation stems from the fact that he's healthy and pitching again.
The veteran left-hander has completed at least six innings and thrown at least 100 pitches during each of his past three outings.
While some Braves fans might have a different perspective focused more on the money lost while paying Hampton over the previous four seasons, the tragic human element perspective stems from the reality that money couldn't erase the misery created by the inability to pitch
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Source: MLB.com
Mike Hampton pitching for the Braves.
photo by Tim Evearitt