Bartolo Colon just gets it, doesn’t he? After all those years wearing an Angels, Yankees, Indians, Expos, White Sox, Red Sox and A’s uniforms, he’s certainly learned the formula for success.
Or as Terry Collins puts it, he’s learned to be brave, fearlessly attacking the strike zone and daring hitters to take their best shots. And most of the time he leaves them looking inept and clueless.
“He has to be brave,” Collins told reporters. “He thinks, ‘If you’re going to beat me, you have to swing the bat.’ Hitting is not easy, and he goes about it that way.”
In six starts this season, Colon is 5-1 with a 2.90 ERA and 0.94 WHIP.
Getting “up there” in age and experience, Colon has thrown in two of the pitcher friendliest ballparks over the past four seasons.
On pace to exceed the numbers of his Cy Young wining 2005 season 10 years ago, Colon is leading the majors in wins alongside teammate Matt Harvey and King Felix over in the American League.
Compared to Fenway and Yankee Stadium, O.co and Citi are safe havens for the guys on the mound. Still, let’s not discount his amazing control and placement, having not allowed a walk in nearly four complete games worth of innings pitched.
“The most important thing for me is being confident about it and knowing what I’m doing,” Colon said through an interpreter. “The team needed a game like today. It was really important for me to perform the way I did. I had that in mind. We needed a win and needed me to pitch a good game.”
Combine location of where the ball crosses the plate and where it lands in the no-man’s lands of Citi’s outfield and O.co’s foul territory, our boy is going to win some games. Check that, a lot of games, even as he approaches his 42nd birthday this month.
With 209 career wins under his belt, Colon will look to take more advantage of his surroundings while riding his solid pitching and team support to stay atop the MLB rankings for starting pitchers.
The Mets are lucky to have him, and the rest of the staff can only benefit from having him around to throw a pitching clinic every five days.
