NEW YORK (AP) — Bartolo Colon celebrated the seventh anniversary of his unlikely homer by doing something perhaps more unexpected: bouncing a ceremonial first pitch.
Colon, renowned far more for his pinpoint control than his bat throughout a 21-year big league career, tossed a first pitch to Francisco Lindor that bounced just shy of home plate at Citi Field before the New York Mets’ 13-6 loss to Colorado on Sunday.
Colon, who last pitched in the big leagues in 2018 and turns 50 on May 24, laughed and later hugged Rockies manager Bud Black, his pitching coach when Colon won the AL Cy Young Award for the Angels in 2005.
Prior to the first pitch, the crowd of 36,501 offered a warm ovation as the Mets aired a clip of Colon’s homer, a 365-foot shot off San Diego’s James Shields.
At just shy of 43 years old, Colon was the oldest player to hit his first career homer. It was one of just five extra-base hits he delivered in a career in which he hit .084 in 299 at-bats.
He played for the Mets from 2014-16 and became popular inside and outside the clubhouse. He took the mound to Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back,” a homage to his late-career nickname “Big Sexy.”
Colon went 44-34 with a 3.90 ERA while making 95 starts. He finished his career with short stints with Atlanta, Minnesota and Texas. His 247 wins are the most among Latin American-born pitchers.
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