By Roger Wallenstein
He’s a rotund, cuddly teddy bear out there on the mound, the kind of guy who should have his own rocking chair in the dugout. Perhaps the bat boy should bring him slippers and a pipe between innings.
At age 44, Bartolo Colon just keeps on throwing strikes, like he did last Thursday as his Twins trimmed the White Sox 5-4 to complete a three-game sweep of the South Siders. Leaving after six innings of work with the scored tied at 3, Colon kept his team in the game despite giving up 10 hits, not an unusual occurrence for the 20-year veteran who clearly loves to pitch and compete.
Steve Stone reminded viewers time and again that Colon throws his fastball more than 80 percent of the time. Early in his career, the Dominican righthander’s heater was consistently in the mid-90s, and he reached 92 last week.
But that’s not the story. Pinpoint control is. Colon rarely walks anyone. He’s issued 10 passes in 55 innings for the Twins this season. Against the White Sox, he didn’t walk anyone. If a fastball under the hitter’s hands is called for, Colon is your man. If an opponent tends to swing at pitches in his eyes, Colon is more than willing to cooperate.
Colon appeared to be finished in 2009 when he was a member of the White Sox. Ineffectiveness and arm woes sent him to the DL, and he actually disappeared in July. Then-manager Ozzie Guillen confessed that he didn’t know the whereabouts of his pitcher. Colon was inactive the entire 2010 season before making a comeback with the Yankees in 2011 when he was 38.
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Posted on September 5, 2017
