Bartolo Colon wants to pitch for the Mets again.
Colon, who turns 47 next week, told ESPN he hopes to pitch one more big-league season and that it would be Amazin’ to end up back with the Mets, where he pitched from 2014-16.
“That Mets team was really something special,” Colon said of his time with the Mets, which included a trip to the World Series in 2015. “I’ve played with 10 [11] teams, but with the Mets, the way all those players treated me, how that entire franchise treated me, from the front office to the kitchen staff, it was amazing. And Mets fans are the best. In the beginning, when they laughed at me every time my helmet fell off, at first I felt uncomfortable. But when I saw how much the fans enjoyed it, I asked for a bigger batting helmet so that it would fall more because it was so much fun for them!
“If it was up to me, I would retire with the Mets. I would like my career to end in New York.”
But Colon hasn’t pitched in the majors since he went 7-12 with a 5.78 ERA in 2018 with the Texas Rangers. The 2005 American League Cy Young winner has played 21 seasons for 11 teams, including the Mets and Yankees.
“I thought that last year maybe I would have the opportunity,” Colon said. “ I know that if it didn’t happen last year, this year would be less likely. I’m getting older and the game is all about the young pitchers coming up. When you get older, teams no longer need your services.”
It’s unlikely many teams would have interest in the 5-foot-11, 285-pound righty, who became a fan favorite with the Mets and was dubbed “Big Sexy” by Noah Syndergaard.
Colon included the origin story of his “Big Sexy” nickname in his book, “Big Sexy: In His Own Words,” where he also speaks out on his 50-game suspension in 2012 suspension for violating the MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The four-time All-Star, who tested positive for testosterone, referred to the suspension as the “most difficult” moment of his career.
“The most difficult thing for me was that Sunday when I got the call that I tested positive. But it was even harder to tell my dad what happened,” Colon said. “I went on to appeal the suspension and spent the next month and a half with tightness in my chest. The day my suspension was about to be announced, I called my dad. As I told him that I had tested positive, I started crying.”
Colon also didn’t pitch in 2010 following ongoing right shoulder and elbow pain, as well as damage to his rotator cuff, ligaments and tendons. In March 2010, Colon received a transplant of stems cells in order to repair the damaged tissue in his right shoulder. The surgery was scrutinized by the league but no wrongdoing was found. The Yankees brought him in for 2011.
“Signing with the Yankees was something special because they were the ones that brought me back, thanks to Tony Peña. They were the ones who gave me a chance,” he said. “When manager Joe Girardi called me into his office and said, ‘we have a role for you, but it would be as reliever.’ I told Tony to tell him that I would accept whatever role they had for me, and Girardi said to go home and think about it overnight. And I said I did not have to think about it at all; all I wanted was to be in the major leagues, even as a bat boy.”