Merry Christmas, baseball fans: Bartolo Colon re-signs with Mets
Well, baseball fans don’t need Christmas presents this year, we’re all getting the best gift we could ask for: Free-agent Bartolo Colon, in all of his 42-year-old glory, is staying in the National League and returning to the New York Mets.
Colon and the Mets have reportedly agreed to a one-year deal worth $7.25 million, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. Colon is a great fit for the Mets, who need someone to fill the rotation until Zack Wheeler returns midseason from Tommy John surgery.
[Elsewhere: Jeff Passan’s ranks and tracks every MLB free agent]
Bartolo knows the Mets well, and vice versa, making it a perfect marriage. So much so, that Colon reportedly accepted less money to stay in New York, where he’s pitched the previous two seasons of his 18-year career, going 29-26 with a 4.13 ERA.
The Mets part of this is really secondary, unless you’re a 7-train riding, David Wright-worshipping fan. For the general baseball fan, the main point is this: We get to see Bartolo bat some more. Had he signed with an American League team, baseball fans would have been robbed of Bartolo At The Bate, one of the greatest delights in the game.
Not because he’s a great hitter mind you (though, the Internet did rejoice last season because he had a whopping eight hits and a career-high four RBIs) but because he puts on such a show. He swings and misses and his helmet flies off. Sometimes he even spins around. He’ll often carry the bat down the baseline with him. It’s exactly the right kind of awkward.
He’s not the best player in baseball, but he’s top 5 most entertaining and here are the GIFs to prove it.
So really, $7 million for all the GIFs Bartolo will inspire next season (and the 150 or so innings he can offer the Mets) is totally worth it.
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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
