Bartolo Colon officially retires at 50
Bartolo Colon is not like any other player in recent MLB history. A fan favorite at every stop he went to, the lovable big guy was far from a slouch in his 21-year career in the majors. The man they call “Big Sexy” has now officially retired from baseball at 50-years-old. The New York Mets will have an official retirement ceremony for Colon on August 26th, per MLB insider Hector Gomez.
SOURCE: The New York Mets will hold an official retirement ceremony for Bartolo Colon on August 26th before a game where they will face the Angels at Citi Field.@z101digital pic.twitter.com/5eaJAlBZlG
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) June 2, 2023
A native of the Dominican Republic, Colon earned an AL Cy Young in 2005 after winning 21 games for the Angels, as well as being named an All-Star four times. He most recently pitched in the MLB as part of the Texas Rangers in 2018.
He is one of the great examples of a durable, reliable pitcher. He earned his final All-Star appearance his age-43 season with the Mets in 2016.
The play he is arguably most well known for, however, was a towering home run to left field against the Padres:
That video is the epitome of Colon in the major leagues. One of the best teammates in every locker room he went, as well as being a very dependable righty in any starting rotation.
You didn’t have to follow him very closely to see that age is just a number for Colon. The man just loves to play ball and did so at a high level for a very long time. While it is certainly unfortunate that he missed out on a World Series, it’s safe to say that the baseball world will love and miss him very deeply.
It’s not at all crazy to say that pitchers nowadays should take some notes on Colon. Things like the pitch clock have certainly changed things on the mound, but he had a remarkable work ethic and spirit for the game.
I’m sure if you interviewed some of his former teammates they would tell you that it was a privilege to share a locker room with him. Here’s to one of the greatest good guys in the sport; someone who played the game the right way and had a considerable amount of success doing so.
