Bartolo Colon to retire after winter league season
Bartolo Colon is ready to retire from professional baseball.
The 49-year-old pitcher said he will hang up his cleats after pitching one more season in winter ball.
"God willing, I would like to pitch a couple of games (with Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League) so I can say goodbye to the game of baseball and to all those Dominican fans because they deserve it," Colon said Saturday, according to MLB.com's Manny Randhawa.
Colon hasn't pitched in the majors since 2018 with the Texas Rangers, but reports out of the Dominican Republic indicated he was trying to make a comeback with the New York Mets earlier this year. Colon pitched with the Mets from 2014-16.
"I have never stopped practicing," Colon said. "I am still practicing in my town and pitching against the kids over there. I have always been ready for anything, for whatever comes my way. I just keep working."
The one-time Cy Young winner and four-time All-Star posted a 247-188 record with a 4.12 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 3,461 2/3 innings across 21 MLB seasons.
He also hit one of the most remarkable home runs in recent memory when he took James Shields deep for his first and only career round-tripper in 2016.
(Source: MLB)