(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Five years after throwing his last pitch in MLB while in a Texas Rangers uniform, Bartolo Colon made his retirement official and did it as a member of the New York Mets.
He announced he was hanging up his cleats ahead of Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field.
The Mets published a tribute video for “Big Sexy” as a way to honor and thank him for his contributions to the team.
Bartolo Colón gets a tribute video on the day he officially retires as a New York Met pic.twitter.com/dYQL5xZAF8
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 17, 2023
Fans in New York love Colon, and the pitcher loves them back.
“I’m grateful for the Cleveland organization, because they are the ones that gave me the opportunity and the start of my career,” Colon said, per MLB, through interpreter Alan Suriel. “If it was up to my parents and the rest of my family, they probably wanted me to retire in Cleveland. [The New York fanbase] accepted and supported me the most. That’s why I felt really comfortable here.”
With the Mets, Colon had a 3.90 ERA in 588.2 innings.
He pitched in Queens from 2014 to 2016, and was an important part of the rotation that led the Mets to a World Series appearance in 2015.
In his career as a whole, Colon had 247 wins, four All-Star berths, and a Cy Young award in 2005.
He had a wonderful MLB tenure, pitching at the highest level from 1997 to 2018.
Mets fans got the chance to give him a proper sendoff.
Colon left lots of memories for fans, from hitting a home run to shutting down some of the best offenses in the league back in the day, and he will be forever remembered as a true Met.
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