Bartolo Colon’s glorious pickoff proves everything’s going right for the Mets
Bartolo Colon, if you haven’t been paying attention, is having an amazing baseball season so far. He’s losing his helmet, he’s driving in runs at the plate, he’s pitching well, and he’s becoming a baseball folk hero on the Internet.
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Colon, 41 and rotund, is pretty much must-watch TV, between his contributions to the scorching-hot Mets and his ability to entertain us with his improbable athleticism. He improved to 4-0 on Thursday, the first pitcher in MLB to win four games, as the Mets beat the Braves 6-3. It was the Mets’ 11th straight win, making them an MLB-best 13-3. They swept the Braves and finished their homestand 10-0.
Colon gave us the most talked-about moment of the game again. In the sixth inning, Colon had A.J. Pierzynski picked off from first base and rather than whipping the ball to a teammate, Colon ran down Pierzynski and tagged him out. Oh, glorious 1U, you make our day.
The pickoff was enough to get Colon trending on Twitter. It should be noted for fairness that Pierzynski is 38 and not incredibly fleet of foot either, so it’s not like Colon chased down Jarrod Dyson.
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Doesn’t matter who it is, though, Colon picking off and chasing down a base runner might be his best moment of the year so far. Until, of course, he finally hits that long-awaited first career homer at the plate.
That will be a national holiday.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz