Bartolo Colon doubles, scores, and makes more history
Bartolo Colon’s 2016 season is the gift that keeps on giving, not just to the fans but to his team, the New York Mets. He hit his first major league home run on May 7, and at 42 became the oldest player to hit his first career homer. His at-bats are a continuous joy, and he’s pitching well to boot. And on Thursday night, Bartolo showed everyone that home runs aren’t the only thing he can hit.
In the bottom of the third of the Mets’ game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Colon came up to bat to start the inning. On Juan Nicasio’s 1-1 pitch, Colon took a mighty hack and smacked a sharp line-drive to the gap in right field. He ran pretty hard out of the box (though he held on to the bat for a few steps), then slowed down to make sure he didn’t miss first base. He kept running after he hit first, and jogged into second for his third career double. He moved to third when Curts Granderson singled, and scored on a Yoenis Cespedes sacrifice fly.
That double put Bartolo into impressive company.
Bartolo also pitched in Thursday’s game, though anyone could be forgiven for forgetting that. He did well, too, pitching 7.2 innings and giving up just two runs on seven hits and zero walks. That’s just the latest great start in a season of great starts. Colon’s ERA is now 3.01 on the year. Age is just a number, baby.
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Colon’s double may have put him on that short list, but he had something to say about having to truck around the bases.
Running is the price you have to pay for greatness, Bartolo.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher
