Former Lakewood BlueClaws superstar lefty pitcher Cole Hamels has been named to the Team USA 30-man roster.
Hamels, the 2002 first-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies, is one step away from becoming the first former BlueClaws player to make the U.S. Olympic team.
The roster will be paired down to 24 players next month when the team trains in the Arizona Fall League and heads into the Americas qualifying event in Panama City, Panama, from Oct. 30 to Nov. 11.
The top two teams in the 12-country competition will qualify for the eight-team baseball tournament next summer in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Hamels, who was 6-1 with a 0.82 ERA with Lakewood, is the youngest player invited to the Olympic Trials. Hamels, the only 19-year-old on the roster, is among 15 pitchers who will try to make team USA. It is expected that 12 will be selected.
Hamels is one of only two lefty starters selected for the trials, with 26-year-old Jason Stanford of the Cleveland Indians organization being the other. The lefty is one of two players in the Phillies system to be selected. Right-handed pitcher Ryan Madson, who spent the entire season with Triple-A Scranton, Pa., is the other. Madson was a September call-up with the Phillies, and a starter in the Triple-A all-star game.
The 30-man Team USA roster includes Indians prospect Grady Seizmore, the MVP of the Futures Game in July; as well as outfielder Ernie Young, of the Detroit Tigers organization, and pitcher Todd Williams, from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, both members of the U.S. team that won the gold medal under manager Tommy LaSorda at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
The 2004 team will be managed by Frank Robinson, who has spent the last two seasons managing the Montreal Expos after tours at the helm of the Indians, San Francisco Giants and Baltimore Orioles.
Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to the team’s Maryvale training facility in Phoenix on Oct. 3, with the full squad due later that week. A 12-game exhibition schedule against teams in the Arizona Fall League is set to begin Oct. 10. A player who was not on any 25-man MLB roster by Aug. 31 is eligible to play on the team.

