Bartolo Colón will get a proper MLB sendoff in September, almost a year after he announced his intention to retire from baseball. The New York Mets announced Colón will officially retire as a member of the team on Sept. 17 before a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field.
Bartolo Colón will officially retire as a member of the #Mets on Sunday, Sept. 17.
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 29, 2023
The first 15,000 fans attending the Sept. 17 game will receive a Bartolo Colón “Big Sexy” long sleeve shirt. 🎟️👉 https://t.co/nJL1R9sKf7 pic.twitter.com/gqYrPfGaMd
It had previously been reported by baseball insider Héctor Gómez in June that Colón would be honored at a Mets-Angels game in August.
Colón, who turned 50 in April, pitched three years with the Mets from 2014 to 2016. Colón's career spanned 21 years and 11 MLB teams. He last saw MLB action in 2018 for the Texas Rangers, with whom he pitched 146 1/3 innings with a 5.78 ERA, 1.346 WHIP and 81 strikeouts.
Colón has a career ERA of 4.12, WHIP of 1.312 and 2,535 career strikeouts. He made four All-Stars and was the 2005 Cy Young winner after leading MLB with 21 wins.
Colón was perhaps most known for his first and only career home run. He smacked a dinger to left field in a 2016 game for the Mets against the Padres.
Happy 50th birthday, Bartolo Colón!
— MLB Vault (@MLBVault) May 24, 2023
Bartolo is still the oldest player in AL/NL history to hit their first home run! pic.twitter.com/KbsY0KGbUg
Although he has been out of MLB action for some time, Colón pitched 3 2/3 innings for Águilas Cibaeñas of the Dominican Professional Baseball League from 2018 to 2019 as well as 61 1/3 innings for Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League in 2021.
He also threw out the first pitch at the Mets' May 7 game against the Rockies on the seven-year anniversary of his iconic home run.








