At 43, Colon is an All-Star again
Mets right-hander named to NL team; it'll be his fourth Midsummer Classic
Bartolo Colon is going to the All-Star Game.
The 43-year-old Mets right-hander was added to the National League roster on Friday. It will be his fourth All-Star Game. He made his first appearance nearly two decades ago as an Indian, in 1998, when he was 25 years old. Colon also made the All-Star Game in 2005, the year he won the American League Cy Young with the Angels, and in 2013 as a 40-year-old with the A's.
Colon will not be the oldest player to make an All-Star Game -- that honor goes to Satchel Paige, who pitched in the 1953 All-Star Game a week after his 47th birthday. But that doesn't make Colon's accomplishment any less impressive. At 43 years, 2 months, Colon will be the oldest All-Star since Mariano Rivera, who closed out the 2013 All-Star Game at 43, years, 7 months and 14 days old.
Colon is a replacement for Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner, who is scheduled to start against the D-backs on Sunday and therefore had a choice whether to pitch on short rest in Tuesday's Midsummer Classic at Petco Park in San Diego.
A fan favorite for his entertaining at-bats with their Ruthian hacks, his slick plays in the field and his ability to defy his age and physique on the mound, Colon has been a rock in the Mets rotation this year.
As injuries have taken their toll on New York's dynamic young arms -- Matt Harvey needs season-ending surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz are pitching through bone spurs in their elbows and Zack Wheeler is still recovering from Tommy John surgery -- Colon has pitched on, and pitched effectively, start after start.
Throwing almost exclusively a two-seam fastball that barely reaches 90 mph, Colon has a 7-4 record and 3.28 ERA in 17 starts and one relief appearance. Only Syndergaard has thrown more innings for the Mets than Colon, who has pitched 98 2/3 innings.
And, of course, there was the home run. On May 7, with 19 years in the Major Leagues under his belt, Bartolo went yard for the first time. His high-arcing blast off Padres starter James Shields elated the Mets and the baseball world and made Colon the oldest player in Major League history to hit his first career homer. Fittingly, the site of that home run was Petco Park.
The 87th All-Star Game presented by MasterCard will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB.com, MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. More information is available at allstargame.com.
David Adler is a reporter for MLB.com based in New York. Follow him on Twitter at @_dadler. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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