Watch: Bartolo Colon hits 1st career home run
He did it. "Big Sexy" finally did it.
Yes, 42-year-old Bartolo Colon, beloved for his skills at the dish, or lack thereof, hit a home run Saturday. At the notoriously pitcher-friendly Petco Park, no less.
James Shields, his unfortunate victim, will likely bury his head in shame over this, especially when he's asked to sign numerous photos of the moment at post-career card shows.
Statcast had Bartolo Colon's homer off the bat at a cool 97 mph. It landed 365 feet away. No matter how you slice it, it was perfect. #Mets
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 8, 2016
Related: Baseball goes bananas after Colon takes Shields deep
After a slow, Papi-esque trot around the bases - which lasted 30.58 seconds - Colon returned to an emptied Mets dugout.
#Mets dugout completely vacates as Bartolo Colon returns from his home run trot pic.twitter.com/LBYMwKIeel
— Max Gelman (@MaxGelman) May 8, 2016
He came into Saturday's contest sporting a career .089/.096/.098 line, with 20 hits, two doubles, nine RBIs, zero walks, and 119 strikeouts across 225 career at-bats. His best individual season at the dish came last year, when he hit .138/.150/.155 with eight hits and four RBIs. The home run was his first hit of 2016.
Perhaps we shouldn't be too shocked by his homer, though. Just a few days ago, Colon showed off his newfound power for the first time by hitting a mammoth foul ball.
Colon is the fifth-oldest pitcher to hit a home run since 1913. Philadelphia Athletics hurler Jack Quinn, who homered at age 46 in 1930, holds the record. He's also just the third Mets player over age 42 to hit a home run, joining Willie Mays and Julio Franco, according to ESPN Stats.
(Videos courtesy: MLB.com)