MLB: Bartolo Colon and Four Other Ageless Wonders in Baseball Today

Bartolo Colon

Age: 40

Jul 3, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Bartolo Colon (40) pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the seventh inning at O.Co Coliseum. Chicago Cubs defeated the Oakland Athletics 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Bartolo Colon signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1993—twenty years ago! I had to look this up on Wikipedia because I was seven at the time, which was a good five years before I started watching Major League Baseball. He played in the minors for a few years until he was called up in 1997.

Some things have changed since Colon first started playing in MLB. For instance, his jersey has changed between seven teams; he has played for the Cleveland Indians, the Montreal Expos, the Chicago White Sox (twice), the LA Angels of Anaheim, the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and the Oakland Athletics, who he signed with in 2012. Also, his fastball used to be in the high 90s when he first came to the big leagues. It’s no longer this fast, but Colon still can throw over 90 mph.

Some things have not changed. Colon has pitched his way into his third All-Star appearance of his career. His first appearance was in 1998, and his second was in 2005 when he won the Cy-Young Award for the AL Division.

This year, Colon is 11-3, which is the third best pitching record in the American League. His ERA is lower than the two pitchers with better records. He’s a major reason why the Oakland Athletics have done so well this year.