Wednesday is a special one for former Mets hurler, Bartolo Colon. It’s not just his birthday — it’s the right-hander’s 50th birthday. And if it were up to him, he’d be spending it in Chicago with the Mets while they’re playing the Cubs.
That’s just a dream nowadays for the longtime hurler. He’s been back at Citi Field a couple of times since Steve Cohen bought the club, though. He was on hand — and on the mound — last August for the return of Mets Old Timers’ Day. Bartolo Colon was also in Queens just a couple of weeks ago. He threw out the ceremonial first pitch as New York celebrated the seven-year anniversary of his first career home run.
The hurler spent 21 years in the big leagues and didn’t land with the Mets until his age-41 season. He stuck around for three years and was a consistently good performer on the mound. Across 98 appearances, he went 44-34 with a 3.90 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and 415 strikeouts in 588.2 innings.
But everyone absolutely adored his efforts at the plate. Hitting was never Colon’s specialty, but he made sure to put on a show. The most success he ever had as a hitter came with the Mets. In 198 trips to the plate, Colon slashed .083/.093/.122. His five extra-base hits (four doubles, one homer) with New York were the only ones he ever collected during his MLB career.
Is there any better way to honor Big Sexy than by watching five minutes of his Mets hitting highlights? I don’t think so. Here you go:
There are just so many terrific moments to digest. Outside of the home run itself, I’m mostly referencing the bloopers. I counted six different instances of his helmet flying off after a swing, two broken bats, and a couple of terrific journeys around the bases.
This is theater at its best, so enjoy this video before pouring one out for the big fella to celebrate his big day.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
