Bartolo Colon got a hero’s welcome at Citi Field on Opening Day and will receive more of the same treatment Wednesday.
On tap is a pregame video tribute for the 43-year-old right-hander, who is scheduled to face the Mets, with whom he spent the previous three seasons.
The Braves signed Colon to a one-year contract worth $12.5 million last winter as the Mets prepared to begin 2017 with seven starters for five spots. In a twist, Steven Matz and Seth Lugo have started the season on the disabled list, negating much of the depth.
Colon’s signature moment with the Mets was the home run he hit in San Diego last May 7 — “The Shot that Rocked Southern California” — but the jovial pitcher was a key component of the team’s two straight postseason appearances. In three seasons with the club, he went 44-34 with a 3.90 ERA, bolstering a rotation with younger, sexier names that was sometimes besieged by injuries.
In the clubhouse, he took on a leadership role with the team’s younger Latin players.
“Bartolo had a huge effect on this team the last three years,” manager Terry Collins said. “Hansel Robles’ development, Jeurys Familia’s development is in correlation with the fact that Bartolo Colon was in that room. They came fast and I think he taught them how to be major league pitchers, how to go about things, how to take the good with the bad, and we’re going to miss that.”
It came as little surprise to the Mets that Colon was cheered loudly during Monday’s on-field introductions.
“I got a kick out of it,” second baseman Neil Walker said. “We all expected it, knew that he was such an integral part of this organization for a while and we know that when we face him it’s going to be a dog fight.”
Travis d’Arnaud is expected to start behind the plate for the Mets after Rene Rivera caught the opener for Noah Synergaard. D’Arnaud entered Monday’s game as a pinch runner for Rivera in the seventh inning and caught the final two innings.