Oakland A’s: Bartolo Colon continues impressive showing
By David Hill
The idea that Bartolo Colon would find his way back to the majors was laughable. He maintained his desire to get one more season, preferably with the Mets, before hanging up his cleats for good. However, as he had not pitched since 2018, and was 48 years old, it seemed that his time had possed.
No one bothered to tell Colon. He signed with the Acereros de Monclova in the Mexican League and has impressed since his first outing. On Saturday, he took his dominance to another level, firing a complete game on just 90 pitches.
Last night, at 48 years and 19 days old, Bartolo Colón pitched a complete game for the @AcererosOficial in the @LigaMexBeis. He made 90 pitches, of which 70 were strikes.pic.twitter.com/jNWpQxVTHP
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) June 13, 2021
Former Oakland A’s All Star Bartolo Colon still dealing
That outing was essentially everything that one would have expected from Colon. He fired 90 pitches, 70 of which were strikes, while allowing two runs on five hits, striking out seven. The fastball still has some life, sitting between 88 and 92 MPH, and is showing movement as he is dominating in Mexico.
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It has not taken Colon long to establish himself as the Acereros’ ace. He has posted a 3.56 ERA and a 1.253 WHiP over his 30.1 innings, striking out 19 batters with seven walks. Although the home runs are still a problem, as he has allowed five homers thus far, he is showing that he may not be done after all.
The Mexican League has attracted several former major leaguers that are looking to get back into the game over the years. Yasiel Puig is perhaps the most notable name in Mexico right now, but former A’s backstop Bruce Maxwell was able to parlay a solid run in the Mexican League into a minor league deal.
That is really all Colon wants. He does not want his time in the majors to end the way it had, where he struggled in 2017 and 2018. All he wants is one last chance to show that he can contribute and to leave on his own terms.
Next. RIP Mudcat Grant. dark
Bartolo Colon has been impressive thus far in the Mexican League. If he continues to pitch the way he has, he may get his wish after all.