Bartolo Colón

Bartolo Colón
Oakland Athletics – No. 52
Pitcher
Born: May 24, 1973 (1973-05-24) Altamira, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 4, 1997 for the Cleveland Indians
Career statistics (through 2011)
Win-loss record	161–112
Earned run average	4.08
Strikeouts	1,738
WHIP	1.332
Teams
Cleveland Indians (1997–2002) Montreal Expos (2002) Chicago White Sox (2003) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004–2007) Boston Red Sox (2008) Chicago White Sox (2009) New York Yankees (2011) Oakland Athletics (2012)
Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star selection (1998, 2005) AL TSN Pitcher of the Year (2005) AL Cy Young Award winner (2005) Led AL in wins (2005) 3× AL Pitcher of the Month

Bartolo Colón (born May 24, 1973) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB from 1997 to 2009 and again in 2011. He won the American League Cy Young Award with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2005.

Early life

Colón grew up in a home without electricity, running water or indoor plumbing in the town of Altamira in the Dominican Republic. He does major charity work for his old community.

Professional career

Cleveland Indians

A prospect from the Dominican Republic, Colón was signed by the Cleveland Indians as a free agent in 1993.

In 1995, pitching for Kinston of the Single-A Carolina League, he finished second in wins with 13 and ERA with 1.96, and led the circuit with 152 strikeouts. He was named the league’s Pitcher of the Year, despite shutting down on August 1 with a bruised elbow. He was named the Indians' 1995 Minor League Player of the Year (receiving the "Lou Boudreau Award").

He played Triple-A ball with the Buffalo Bisons in 1997 and was the only player in history to throw a no-hitter in Dunn Tire Park.

Colón made his major league debut at the Anaheim Angels on April 4, 1997, receiving a no decision. In his first MLB season, Colón went 4–7 with a 5.65 ERA. The following year, he set the modern-day MLB record for throwing the most pitches (20) in a single at bat on June 28, 1998 against Ricky Gutiérrez, who eventually struck out. Later that season, Colón won his only start of the 1998 American League Championship Series, pitching a four-hit, one-run complete game. In his 1999 season, Colón finished 18–5, pitching over 200 innings with 161 strikeouts and a 3.95 ERA.

In 2000, Colón eclipsed his strikeouts number by 51, ending with 212. He also posted a career-high 98 walks.

Montreal Expos

Just prior to the 2002 trade deadline, Colón and Tim Drew were traded to the Montreal Expos in exchange for Lee Stevens, Brandon Phillips, and prospects Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee. Colón finished 2002 with a combined 20–8 record and a 2.93 ERA, including 76 earned runs with 70 walks in 233.1 innings, three shutouts, and eight complete games.

Chicago White Sox

Before the 2003 season, Colón was traded to the Chicago White Sox with minor leaguer Jorge Nunez for Orlando Hernández, Rocky Biddle, Jeff Liefer and cash.

Anaheim Angels

A free agent after the season, he signed with the Anaheim Angels. Colón won 18 games with Anaheim in 2004. During the 2005 season, he went 21–8 with a 3.48 ERA, and became the first Angels pitcher to win the Cy Young Award since Dean Chance in 1964. Due to a partially torn rotator cuff that he received in a playoff game against the Yankees in 2005, Colón spent much of the 2006 season on the DL with soreness or inflammation in his right shoulder. In 10 starts, Colón went 1–5 with a 5.11 ERA.

On April 21, 2007, his first start of the 2007 season following his return from the DL, Colón pitched 7 innings, allowing one run on seven hits for his first win in 2007.

Colón with the Red Sox.

Boston Red Sox

On February 25, 2008 Colón signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox and was invited to spring training. On May 15, 2008, Colón threw a one-hitter for the Red Sox' Triple-A team, the Pawtucket Red Sox. Six days later, Colón's contract was purchased by the Red Sox, and he was added to the active roster. Colón pitched his first major league game for the Red Sox on May 21, 2008, against the Kansas City Royals. Colón earned his 150th career win on June 11, 2008 against the Baltimore Orioles.

On September 19, 2008, Colón was placed on the suspended list by the Red Sox after leaving for the Dominican Republic to handle "personal matters" and deciding to stay, effectively ending his Red Sox career. Colón was placed on the restricted list on September 25, 2008. He filed for free agency after the end of the 2008 season.

Second stint with the White Sox

Colón agreed to a one-year, $1m contract to return to the Chicago White Sox in January 2009, shortly after they had traded Javier Vázquez to the Atlanta Braves. He would compete for the fourth and fifth starters' positions in the White Sox rotation.

Colón fielding a ground ball for the White Sox.

Colón made his comeback from off-season surgery to remove bone chips from the elbow in his pitching arm during the White Sox Spring Training, in the Cactus League in Arizona. He was named as the White Sox fifth starter by manager Ozzie Guillen before the start of the regular season. He won his first start in his second stint in Chicago, pitching six strong innings of three-hit ball as the Sox blanked rivals Minnesota 8–0 on April 11, 2009. In doing so he became the first White Sox starting pitcher to win a regular season game in 2009. Colon then suffered another injury and did not pitch again for the remainder of the season.

Colón has pitched 31 complete games, ranking 11th among active players as of June 11, 2008.

New York Yankees

Colón did not pitch in 2010 due to ongoing right shoulder pain and damage to the rotator cuff, ligaments and tendons. In March 2010, he received a transplant of stem cells to repair the damaged tissues in his right shoulder. The nature of this treatment is being investigated by Major League Baseball.

Colón then played in the Pre-World Championship in Puerto Rico, winter ball with the Aguilas and the Leones del Escogido, and the Puerto Rican winter league., and announced that he would attempt a comeback to MLB for the 2011 season. He signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees on January 26, 2011. Colón was invited to spring training, competing for a spot on the 25 man roster, despite coming into camp 30 pounds overweight. Colón was named to the Yankees' Opening Day roster in the bullpen. Colón made his first start for the Yankees on April 20, taking the rotation spot of the injured Phil Hughes. Through the month of May, Colon was 3–3 with a 3.26 ERA. On May 30, 2011, he threw a 4-hit complete game shutout, his first since 2006 against the Athletics. He sustained a hamstring injury on June 11, 2011, against the Cleveland Indians. When he was injured, he was in the 7th inning of a shutout game against the Indians, but he limped off the field after covering first base on a ground ball to Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira. Colon then ended up on the 15 day disabled list. He said that he'd be back pitching right when he is eligible to. On July 2, Colon returned to the Yankees and threw six shutout innings against the New York Mets.

Colon's season was somewhat of a resurgence, going 8-10 with a respectable 4.00 ERA and a WHIP of 1.29.

Oakland Athletics

On January 14, 2012, Colon agreed to a one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics.

Family

Colón's wife is named Rosanna and the couple has three sons. His family lives in Baldwin, New York.

See also

• List of Cy Young Award winners
• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
• List of Major League Baseball wins champions

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Hideki Irabu Derek Lowe Barry Zito	American League Pitcher of the Month June 1998 May 2002 August 2005	Succeeded by David Cone Mark Mulder José Contreras
Preceded by Curt Schilling	American League Wins Champion 2005	Succeeded by Johan Santana & Chien-Ming Wang
Preceded by Johan Santana	American League Cy Young Award 2005	Succeeded by Johan Santana