Mike Hampton

Michael William Hampton is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. During his career, Hampton was well known for being one of the best hitting pitchers of his time, as well as for his large contract and frequent injuries. Mike Hampton was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the sixth round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft. He first broke into the major leagues in 1993, but had a disappointing start. After the season, he found himself traded to the Houston Astros with Mike Felder for Eric Anthony. Hampton became a starter for Houston in 1995, and kept his ERA under 4.00 for... every season he was with the Astros. In 1999, Hampton had his best year. He broke through with a 22–4 record, best in the National League, and a 2.90 ERA. He picked up his first of five Silver Slugger Awards and narrowly finished second in National League Cy Young Award voting to Randy Johnson. Entering the final year of his contract, Hampton was dealt to the New York Mets in the wake of his big season. He went 15–10 with a 3.12 ERA and helped the Mets greatly in the postseason. With two wins and no earned runs in two starts, Hampton was named the MVP of the 2000 NLCS.
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