Bartolo Colon is, without a doubt, one of the most successful Latin players of his generation. “Big Sexy,” as he is often called, amassed a fantastic career, with 247 wins and over $120 million in earnings spread over 21 seasons and 11 major league organizations. The New York Mets were one of them.
However, one of the most famous moments of his career occurred exactly four years ago, when he was playing with the New York Mets, and it happened on the batters’ box.
It was on Saturday, May 7 2016 that Colon belted his first and only home run of his career, when he was 43 years old.
The video of Colon’s home run with the Mets has over 1.5 million views on Youtube, just on MLB official account.
Imagine how unlikely was the homer: Colon, a career .084 hitter (25-299) with 166 Ks and only one walk, managed to hit a James Shields’ 90 mph fastball on the sweet spot for the four-bagger.
It happened in the second inning of a Mets – Padres game at Petco Park. The connection helped the Mets come out on top 6-3 in a game that had a 41,028 attendance.
Big Sexy wasn’t too hot with the bat, but he got Shields
Over that last season with the Mets, Colon hit .083 with two doubles and the homer.
Even though it was an away game, the public in attendance cheered Colon in what was an amazing, unforgettable moment in his career, one that included a 4.12 ERA and a Cy Young award in 2005.
Mets’ fans and Colon sure will remember that home run for a long time.
For now, Colon tried to come back to the major leagues but couldn’t find a deal of his liking in the last two years. He was getting ready to pitch in the Mexican League with Acereros de Monclova before the coronavirus pandemic postponed the season.
You can see the video of the home run here: