Bartolo Colon, 46, yearns for one more season in the majors

Even though Bartolo Colon hasn’t thrown a pitch in the majors since September 2018, the 46-year-old is not thinking about retirement.

Colon hopes to pitch one more big league season, and if given the choice, it would be with the New York Mets.

“I thought that last year maybe I would have the opportunity,” Colon said on a video call with ESPN. “I know that if it didn’t happen last year, this year would be less likely. I’m getting older and the game is all about the young pitchers coming up. When you get older, teams no longer need your services.”

Colon, who has pitched 21 seasons and won 247 games, said his time with the Mets from 2014 to ‘16 held some of his fondest memories. He highlighted the clubhouse environment and the Mets’ young pitching staff, particularly Noah Syndergaard, who anointed him “Big Sexy”—which became the title of his recently released autobiography.

“That Mets team was really something special,” he said. “I’ve played with 10 teams, but with the Mets, the way all those players treated me, how that entire franchise treated me, from the front office to the kitchen staff, it was amazing. And Mets fans are the best. In the beginning, when they laughed at me every time my helmet fell off, at first I felt uncomfortable. But when I saw how much the fans enjoyed it, I asked for a bigger batting helmet so that it would fall more because it was so much fun for them!”

He added: “If it was up to me, I would retire with the Mets. I would like my career to end in New York.”