Pitcher Bartolo Colon turns 47 on Sunday, but he still has the drive to compete in Major League Baseball. He told ESPN’s Marly Rivera he wants to pitch one more season in the majors, ideally with the Mets.
Colon has pitched in the majors for parts of 21 seasons with 11 different teams. He spent 2014-16 with the Mets, helping the club reach the World Series in ’15. Colon said, “If it was up to me, I would retire with the Mets. I would like my career to end in New York.”
The veteran did not pitch in 2019, coming off a disappointing ’18 campaign with the Rangers. He made 24 starts and four relief appearances, posting a 5.78 ERA with 81 strikeouts and 25 walks over 146 1/3 innings. It does not seem like the Mets have room in the rotation for Colon, even after losing Noah Syndergaard to Tommy John surgery. If the season were to start today, the rotation would feature Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, Rick Porcello, Steven Matz, and Michael Wacha.
Colon has built something of a cult following in the late stages of his career due to his age and atypical body. Syndergaard dubbed him “Big Sexy.” He could be generously described as a fringe Hall of Fame candidate, currently sitting on 247 wins and 2,535 strikeouts. He has a 4.12 ERA and 47.8 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference, over 3,461 2/3 innings.
