New York Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon had an interesting weekend, becoming the oldest player in MLB history to hit the first home run of his career, per MLB Stat of the Day.
With two outs and a runner on second base during the second inning of Saturday’s game against the San Diego Padres, the 42-year-old Colon launched a fastball from Padres pitcher James Shields into the left field stands at Petco Park.
Prior to Saturday, Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson had been the oldest player to hit his first career homer, having done so in 2003 at the age of 40.
Furthermore, Colon became the second-oldest player to hit a home run in a Mets uniform, trailing only the ageless Julio Franco, who homered for the Amazins as a 48-year-old, per MLB Stat of the Day.
Colon needed 226 at-bats for his first long ball, and he has just 21 career hits, with 18 of those being singles.
After striking out in his final two at-bats in Saturday’s contest, he has 121 strikeouts in 228 at-bats (53.1 percent) and a measly .092 batting average.
The Mets obviously don’t mind, as Colon improved his record to 3-1 in Saturday’s eventual 6-3 victory, limiting the Padres to three runs on six hits and a walk over 6.2 innings.
He has a 2.82 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 33 strikeouts through 38.1 innings, having allowed three or fewer runs in each of his seven appearances (six starts) this season.
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