Mike Hampton
A durable left-handed ace and fearsome hitter who became the highest-paid pitcher in history after a legendary postseason run.
Born 1972 (age 54)·American baseball player·Birthday: September 9·Generation X
Biography
Mike Hampton built a long and lucrative career on a simple, punishing formula: a heavy sinker, competitive fire, and a bat that made him a genuine threat at the plate. He broke in with Seattle but found his stride in Houston, becoming a workhorse who routinely topped 200 innings. His legend was cemented in the 2000 postseason with the New York Mets, where he pitched a complete-game shutout to clinch the NLCS and was named series MVP. That performance catapulted him into a record-setting free-agent contract with Colorado, a deal that made headlines for its sheer size. While the Coors Field years were rocky, he later reinvented himself as a savvy veteran in Atlanta, winning a Silver Slugger award four separate times—a testament to the hitting prowess that always set him apart from other pitchers.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Mike was born in 1972, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Mike Was Born
The biggest hits of 1972
#1 Movie
The Godfather
Best Picture
The Godfather
#1 TV Show
All in the Family
Mike's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1972Born
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1977Started school
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1985Became a teenager
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1988Could drive
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1990Could vote
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1993Turned 21
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
2002Turned 30
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 40
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 50
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 54 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Named the 2000 NLCS MVP after pitching 16 scoreless innings for the Mets, including a complete-game shutout in the clinching Game 5.
- Signed an 8-year, $121 million contract with the Colorado Rockies in 2000, then the largest deal ever for a pitcher.
- Won the Silver Slugger Award for best-hitting pitcher five times (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003).
- Finished second in National League Cy Young Award voting in 1999 after posting a 22-4 record for the Houston Astros.
Did You Know?
He hit .315 with 7 home runs in 2001, one of the best offensive seasons ever by a pitcher.
He famously cited Colorado's school system as a reason for signing with the Rockies, a comment often repeated in sports contract lore.
He won two Rawlings Gold Glove Awards for his fielding (2000, 2002).
He hit 16 career home runs, one of the highest totals for a pitcher in the modern era.
“I came to hit, and I came to win.”
