Bartolo Colon is a beast, we all know that. The sexy 43-year-old starting pitcher has defied all of our expectations and has pitched brilliantly this season. So far in 2016, he is 13-7 with a 3.27 ERA. In 170.2 innings, he has struck out 110 and walked only 30.
Colon has many accomplishments under his already strained belt. The four-time All Star has the most wins (231) of any active pitcher, 13 shutouts, and won the Cy Young Award in 2005 with the Angles when he went 21-8. However, there is one more accomplishment he wants to… accomplish.
Big Bart’s 231 wins is good for second on the all-time list for pitchers born in Latin America. Number one on that list is Dennis Martinez, who has 245. It would mean a lot to him to be #1 on that list, and it would also mean a lot to him to reach that plateau playing for the New York Mets.
“I hope I am here,” Colon told the Daily News. “If they give me the opportunity, I would love to be here.” Well, Bartolo, we would love to have you, but there’s one problem. Or, rather, seven.
Barring any setbacks or new injuries, the Mets have seven capable starting pitchers going into 2017: Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Seth Lugo, and Robert Gsellman. While the affection is mutual between Mets fans and Bartolo Colon, there just might not be a spot for the veteran.
To date, Sandy Alderson has been ambiguous as to whether the Mets will resign him or not. It remains to be seen just how much money Colon and his agent will be asking for, but the fact of the matter is that Big Bart has shown that he is still a very effective pitcher. Teams with much less starting pitching depth than the Mets will be vying for his services.
Colon still has a few starts left this season to inch closer to the 246 mark which would put him on top of the most wins by a Latin American pitcher list. However, at this point, nobody knows if he will hit the home stretch of that race in a Mets uniform or otherwise.
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