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It’s a swing that will live on forever in Mets lore.
No, we’re not talking about Pete Alonso’s game-winning three-run home run in Game 3 of the 2024 Wild Card series.
We’re not referring to Robin Ventura’s 1999 NLCS walk-off “grand-slam single,” nor are we discussing any of the 252 home runs Darryl Strawberry struck in a Mets uniform.
This day is all about Bartolo Colón.
Thursday marked the 10th anniversary of Colón hitting the only home run of his 21-year MLB career — a glorious feat of power and improbability that delighted Mets fans as much as it stupefied them.
Colón, then a 42-year-old pitcher whom nobody was mistaking for Shohei Ohtani, delivered that magnificent highlight on May 7, 2016, in San Diego when he turned on a belt-high, 90-mph fastball from Padres starter James Shields.
The visitors’ dugout erupted in a scene of pure bliss as Colón’s towering two-run blast soared over the left field wall at Petco Park — and into its rightful place in Mets history.
“The only thing I could think about when I was running the bases were those bases were getting further and further away from me at the time,” Colón recalled at Citi Field in September 2023.
“Once I came home … I just felt like it was a dream.”
But this was indeed reality for Colón, who finished his career as an .084 hitter in 299 at-bats, all of which occurred before the National League implemented the designated hitter.
At the plate, Colón was much better known for his flailing swings, which he unleashed with so much ungraceful force that his batting helmet would sometimes fly off of his head.
Coming into that second-inning plate appearance, Colón was 0-for-9 in 2016. The 357-foot homer ended up being one of only four hits Colón recorded in 60 at-bats that season.
“You watch him take batting practice, and he’s got very good hand-eye coordination,” third baseman David Wright said at the time. “You see him hit some in BP and think to yourself, ‘What would happen if he ever did it in a game?’”
That question was answered in Colón’s 19th MLB season and a mere 17 days before his 43rd birthday.
Colón became the oldest player in MLB history to hit his first career home run. The previous record-holder, 40-year-old Randy Johnson, had held the distinction for more than a decade.
The day after Colón’s colossal clout, the Daily News hailed him as “BART RUTH” in a backpage headline.
Colón made sure to let his one-and-only home run sink in, taking 31 seconds to round the bases.
Memories of the incredible moment have lived on much longer.
“The three years I have been here, I was chasing one,” Colon said after that game. “Even in my Montreal days I was chasing one … but I wasn’t expecting something like this to happen.”
Colón pitched for 11 teams during his MLB career from 1997 to 2018, including the crosstown Yankees in 2011.
The right-hander finished 247-188 with a 4.12 ERA and won the 2005 American League Cy Young Award as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.
Colón was 41 when he debuted with the Mets in 2014. He spent three years with them, including a 2016 season in which he earned his third and final All-Star selection.
Armed with impeccable command, Colón demonstrated staying power long after his mid-90s fastball lost a few ticks. He quickly became a favorite among Mets fans and teammates alike.
“There was one day I came into the clubhouse, and there was a T-shirt that says ‘Big Sexy’ on it,” Colón said in 2023.
“I look at it, and I’m like, ‘Who put this on my chair? I think they’re calling me fat.’ Then [Noah] Syndergaard came up to me and was like, ‘No, that’s a good thing.’ The nickname stuck and I ended up liking it.”
And the Mets made a lasting impact on Colón — so much so that he officially retired with them in 2023.
“Once I was done there,” Colón said before his retirement ceremony in Queens, “this was the fan base that accepted me the most and supported me the most.”
Continue reading...
No, we’re not talking about Pete Alonso’s game-winning three-run home run in Game 3 of the 2024 Wild Card series.
We’re not referring to Robin Ventura’s 1999 NLCS walk-off “grand-slam single,” nor are we discussing any of the 252 home runs Darryl Strawberry struck in a Mets uniform.
This day is all about Bartolo Colón.
Thursday marked the 10th anniversary of Colón hitting the only home run of his 21-year MLB career — a glorious feat of power and improbability that delighted Mets fans as much as it stupefied them.
Colón, then a 42-year-old pitcher whom nobody was mistaking for Shohei Ohtani, delivered that magnificent highlight on May 7, 2016, in San Diego when he turned on a belt-high, 90-mph fastball from Padres starter James Shields.
The visitors’ dugout erupted in a scene of pure bliss as Colón’s towering two-run blast soared over the left field wall at Petco Park — and into its rightful place in Mets history.
“The only thing I could think about when I was running the bases were those bases were getting further and further away from me at the time,” Colón recalled at Citi Field in September 2023.
“Once I came home … I just felt like it was a dream.”
But this was indeed reality for Colón, who finished his career as an .084 hitter in 299 at-bats, all of which occurred before the National League implemented the designated hitter.
At the plate, Colón was much better known for his flailing swings, which he unleashed with so much ungraceful force that his batting helmet would sometimes fly off of his head.
Coming into that second-inning plate appearance, Colón was 0-for-9 in 2016. The 357-foot homer ended up being one of only four hits Colón recorded in 60 at-bats that season.
“You watch him take batting practice, and he’s got very good hand-eye coordination,” third baseman David Wright said at the time. “You see him hit some in BP and think to yourself, ‘What would happen if he ever did it in a game?’”
That question was answered in Colón’s 19th MLB season and a mere 17 days before his 43rd birthday.
Colón became the oldest player in MLB history to hit his first career home run. The previous record-holder, 40-year-old Randy Johnson, had held the distinction for more than a decade.
The day after Colón’s colossal clout, the Daily News hailed him as “BART RUTH” in a backpage headline.
Colón made sure to let his one-and-only home run sink in, taking 31 seconds to round the bases.
Memories of the incredible moment have lived on much longer.
“The three years I have been here, I was chasing one,” Colon said after that game. “Even in my Montreal days I was chasing one … but I wasn’t expecting something like this to happen.”
Colón pitched for 11 teams during his MLB career from 1997 to 2018, including the crosstown Yankees in 2011.
The right-hander finished 247-188 with a 4.12 ERA and won the 2005 American League Cy Young Award as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.
Colón was 41 when he debuted with the Mets in 2014. He spent three years with them, including a 2016 season in which he earned his third and final All-Star selection.
Armed with impeccable command, Colón demonstrated staying power long after his mid-90s fastball lost a few ticks. He quickly became a favorite among Mets fans and teammates alike.
“There was one day I came into the clubhouse, and there was a T-shirt that says ‘Big Sexy’ on it,” Colón said in 2023.
“I look at it, and I’m like, ‘Who put this on my chair? I think they’re calling me fat.’ Then [Noah] Syndergaard came up to me and was like, ‘No, that’s a good thing.’ The nickname stuck and I ended up liking it.”
And the Mets made a lasting impact on Colón — so much so that he officially retired with them in 2023.
“Once I was done there,” Colón said before his retirement ceremony in Queens, “this was the fan base that accepted me the most and supported me the most.”
Continue reading...
