Bartolo Colón
| Bartolo Colón | |
|---|---|
 | |
| New York Mets – No. 40 | |
| Starting pitcher | |
|
Born: May 24, 1973 Altamira, Dominican Republic | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| April 4, 1997 for the Cleveland Indians | |
| Career statistics (through 2013 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 189–128 |
| Earned run average | 3.94 |
| Strikeouts | 1,950 |
| WHIP | 1.31 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Bartolo Colón (born May 24, 1973) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball. He has also pitched for the Cleveland Indians (1997–2002), Montreal Expos (2002), Chicago White Sox (2003, 2009), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004–2007), Boston Red Sox (2008), New York Yankees (2011) and Oakland Athletics (2012-2013).
He won the American League Cy Young Award with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2005. He returned to MLB after an experimental medical procedure that revitalized his career. During the 2012 season, Colon was suspended 50 games by MLB after testing positive for synthetic testosterone.
Early life
Colón grew up in a home without electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing in the town of Altamira in the Dominican Republic. He does major charity work for his old community.[1]
Professional career
Cleveland Indians
Bartolo Colon was signed by the Cleveland Indians as a free agent in 1993.[2]
In 1995, pitching for Kinston of the Single-A Carolina League, he finished second in wins with 13 and ERA with 1.96, and led the circuit with 152 strikeouts. He was named the league’s Pitcher of the Year, despite shutting down on August 1 with a bruised elbow. He was named the Indians' 1995 Minor League Player of the Year (receiving the "Lou Boudreau Award").[3]
He played Triple-A ball with the Buffalo Bisons in 1997 and was the only player in history to throw a no-hitter in Dunn Tire Park.
Colón made his major league debut at the Anaheim Angels on April 4, 1997, receiving a no decision.[4] In his first MLB season, Colón went 4–7 with a 5.65 ERA. The following year, he set the modern-day MLB record for throwing the most pitches (20) in a single at bat on June 28, 1998[5] against Ricky Gutiérrez, who eventually struck out. Later that season, Colón won his only start of the 1998 American League Championship Series, pitching a four-hit, one-run complete game. In his 1999 season, Colón finished 18–5, pitching over 200 innings with 161 strikeouts and a 3.95 ERA.
On September 18, 2000, he tossed a one-hitter against the New York Yankees.[6] In 2000, Colón eclipsed his strikeouts number by 51, ending with 212. He also posted a career-high 98 walks.
Montreal Expos
Just prior to the 2002 trade deadline, Colón and Tim Drew were traded to the Montreal Expos in exchange for Lee Stevens, Brandon Phillips, and prospects Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee. Colón finished 2002 with a combined 20–8 record and a 2.93 ERA, including 76 earned runs with 70 walks in 233.1 innings, three shutouts, and eight complete games.
Chicago White Sox
Before the 2003 season, Colón was traded to the Chicago White Sox with minor leaguer Jorge Nunez for Orlando Hernández, Rocky Biddle, Jeff Liefer and cash.
Anaheim Angels
A free agent after the season, he signed with the Anaheim Angels. Colón won 18 games with Anaheim in 2004. During the 2005 season, he went 21–8 with a 3.48 ERA, and became the first Angels pitcher to win the Cy Young Award since Dean Chance in 1964.[7] Due to a partially torn rotator cuff that he received in a playoff game against the Yankees in 2005, Colón spent much of the 2006 season on the DL with soreness or inflammation in his right shoulder. In 10 starts, Colón went 1–5 with a 5.11 ERA.
On April 21, 2007, his first start of the 2007 season following his return from the DL, Colón pitched 7 innings, allowing one run on seven hits for his first win in 2007.
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Boston Red Sox
On February 25, 2008, Colón signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox and was invited to spring training.[8] On May 15, 2008, Colón threw a one-hitter for the Red Sox' Triple-A team, the Pawtucket Red Sox. Six days later, Colón's contract was purchased by the Red Sox, and he was added to the active roster. Colón pitched his first major league game for the Red Sox on May 21, 2008, against the Kansas City Royals. Colón earned his 150th career win on June 11, 2008 against the Baltimore Orioles.[9]
On September 19, 2008, Colón was placed on the suspended list by the Red Sox after leaving for the Dominican Republic to handle "personal matters" and deciding to stay, effectively ending his Red Sox career.[10] Colón was placed on the restricted list on September 25, 2008. Colón spent the post-season on the restricted list as the Red Sox won the 2008 ALDS against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 4 games, but lost the 2008 ALCS against the Tampa Bay Rays in 7 games. He filed for free agency after the end of the 2008 season.
Second stint with the White Sox
Colón agreed to a one year, $1 million contract to return to the Chicago White Sox in January 2009, shortly after they had traded Javier Vázquez to the Atlanta Braves. He would compete for the fourth and fifth starters' positions in the White Sox rotation.[11]
Colón made his comeback from off-season surgery to remove bone chips from the elbow in his pitching arm during the White Sox Spring Training, in the Cactus League in Arizona. He was named as the White Sox fifth starter by manager Ozzie Guillen before the start of the regular season. He won his first start in his second stint in Chicago, pitching six strong innings of three-hit ball as the Sox blanked rivals Minnesota 8–0 on April 11, 2009. In doing so he became the first White Sox starting pitcher to win a regular season game in 2009. Colón then suffered another injury and did not pitch again for the remainder of the season.
Colón has pitched 31 complete games, ranking 11th among active players as of June 11, 2008.[12]
New York Yankees
Colón did not pitch in 2010 due to ongoing right shoulder and elbow pain and damage to the rotator cuff, ligaments and tendons.[13] In March 2010, he received a transplant of stem cells[14] to repair the damaged tissues in his right shoulder.[13] The orthopedic surgeon who performed the surgery said he had used Human growth hormone in previous surgeries of the same type but not with Colón. The surgery was scrutinized by MLB but no wrongdoing was found.[15][16]
Colón then played in the Pre-World Championship in Puerto Rico, winter ball with the Aguilas and the Leones del Escogido, and the Puerto Rican winter league.,[13] and announced that he would attempt a comeback to MLB for the 2011 season.[17] He signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees on January 26, 2011. Colón was invited to spring training, competing for a spot on the 25 man roster, despite coming into camp 30 pounds overweight.[18] Colón was named to the Yankees' Opening Day roster in the bullpen. Colón made his first start for the Yankees on April 20, taking the rotation spot of the injured Phil Hughes.[19][20] Through the month of May, Colon was 3–3 with a 3.26 ERA. On May 30, 2011, he threw a 4-hit complete game shutout, his first since 2006 against the Athletics. He sustained a hamstring injury on June 11, 2011, against the Cleveland Indians. When he was injured, he was in the 7th inning of a shutout game against the Indians, but he limped off the field after covering first base on a ground ball to Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira. Colon then ended up on the 15-day disabled list. He said that he'd be back pitching right when he is eligible to.[21] On July 2, Colon returned to the Yankees and threw six shutout innings against the New York Mets. On July 14 against the Blue Jays, Colon lasted only after the first 2 outs in the first inning yielding 8 runs, the shortest outing of his career. Colon's 2011 season was somewhat of a resurgence, going 8–10 with a respectable 4.00 ERA and a WHIP of 1.29. Colon was demoted to the bullpen when the Yankees made the postseason and the team lost to the Detroit Tigers in the 2011 ALDS.
Oakland Athletics
On January 14, 2012, Colón agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with the Oakland Athletics.[22] He started the second game of the season for the Athletics in the Opening Series in Tokyo, Japan, throwing 8 innings, giving up 1 run over 3 hits, with 6 strikeouts.[23] On Wednesday, April 18, Colon threw 38 consecutive strikes, the most since 1988, when the MLB began to collect pitching data in-depth, in a start against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.[24] He started the 2012 season with a 3–1 record and 2.64 ERA, but faltered with a 1–4 record and 5.80 ERA in his next seven starts.[25]
Colón was suspended August 22, 2012, for 50 games by MLB after testing positive for synthetic testosterone, a performance-enhancing substance in violation of MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. He was the second MLB player to be suspended within a two-week time frame for testosterone (the other being San Francisco Giants star Melky Cabrera).[16][26][27]
The Athletics signed Colón to a one-year, $3 million deal for 2013. The deal could be worth $5–6 million if all incentives are reached.[28] He was selected for his third All-Star team in July after posting an 11–3 record with a 2.78 ERA.[29]
New York Mets
On December 11, 2013, Colón agreed to a 2-year, $20 million contract with the New York Mets.[30]
Pitching style
Colón throws four pitches. Early in his career, Colón had excellent speed on his four-seam fastball, throwing it in the mid 90s and occasionally touching 100 mph.[31] Today, Colón's four-seamer sits at 90–92 mph, and he pairs it with a two-seamer at 88–91. This combination of fastballs makes up nearly 90% of Colón's pitches, but he also throws a changeup to left-handed hitters and a slider.[32]
Family
Colón's wife is named Rosanna and the couple have three sons. His family lives in Clifton, New Jersey.[33]
See also
- List of Cy Young Award winners
- List of Major League Baseball wins champions
- List of Major League Baseball players suspended for performance-enhancing drugs
References
- ↑ "MySpaceTV Videos: Before the Bigs: Bartolo Colon & Russell Martin by FSN PRIME TICKET". MySpace. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
- ↑ "Colon's bio at mlb.com". mlb.com. Retrieved March 20, 2007.
- ↑ "Minor League Player of the Year by Team". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ↑ "1997 news for Colon at m[lb.com". mlb.com. Retrieved March 20, 2007.
- ↑ Epic At-Bats Mental Floss
- ↑ 2001 Official Major League Baseball Fact Book. St. Louis, Missouri: The Sporting News. 2001. p. 103. 0-89204-646-5.
- ↑ "Colon wins American League Cy Young Award". ESPN. November 9, 2005. Archived from the original on December 9, 2006. Retrieved January 6, 2007.
- ↑ "Sox insure rotation with talented Colon". MLB.com. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
- ↑ "Rejuvenated Colon earns his 150th win". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 12, 2008. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
- ↑ Colon placed on suspended list MLB.com
- ↑ White Sox Agree to Terms on One-Year Contract with Pitcher Bartolo Colon
- ↑ "active CG list". baseball-reference.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2007. Retrieved March 20, 2007.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Stem cells give life to the arm of Bartolo Colon DiarioLibre
- ↑ Barbarisi, Daniel (May 14, 2011). "Meet the Doctor Who 'Fixed' Bartolo". The Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ Kovaleski, Serge F. (May 11, 2011). "Disputed Treatment Used in Bartolo Colon's Comeback". The New York Times.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Jaffe, Jay. "Suspensions of Colon and Cabrera show systems does not work". SI.com (SportsIllustrated.CNN.com). Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- ↑ Colón interesa a varios equipos de MLB ESPN Deportes
- ↑ Yankees sign Bartolo Colon ESPN
- ↑ Freddy Garcia makes Yanks' rotation ESPN
- ↑ After thrilling win, Blue Jays eye sweep MLB.com
- ↑ Bartolo Colon has strained hamstring ESPN
- ↑ Stark, Jayson (January 15, 2012). "Source: Bartolo Colon agrees to join A's". ESPN. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
- ↑ "March 29, 2012 - Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- ↑ Kaduk, Kevin (April 19, 2012). "Bartolo Colon throws 38 straight strikes, most since 1988". Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- ↑ Slusser, Susan (June 1, 2012). "A's Colon is an entertaining set of contradictions". The San Francisco Chronicle.
- ↑ Heyman, Jon (August 22, 2012). "Bartolo Colon fails MLB drug test; in line for 50-game suspension". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
- ↑ "Oakland A's pitcher Bartolo Colon suspended 50 games after testing positive for testosterone - Houston Chronicle". Chron.com. August 22, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
- ↑ Slusser, Susan (November 3, 2012). "A's re-sign Bartolo Colon to 1-year deal". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ↑ Lee, Jane. "Colon lone A's player selected as All-Star". OaklandAthletics.com. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
- ↑ Rubin, Adam (December 11, 2013). "Source: Bartolo Colon, Mets agree". ESPN. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
- ↑ Hoynes, Paul (December 19, 2010). "Cleveland Indians scouting Bartolo Colon; sign Japanese pitcher". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ↑ "Brooks Baseball · Home of the PitchFX Tool - Player Card: Bartolo Colon". Brooks Baseball. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ↑ Bartolo Colón:Stats, Bio, Photos, Highlights whitesox.com
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bartolo Colón. |
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
| Preceded by Hideki Irabu Derek Lowe Barry Zito |
American League Pitcher of the Month June 1998 May 2002 August 2005 |
Succeeded by David Cone Mark Mulder José Contreras |
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