Three of his 21 major league seasons were spent in Queens.
He was an All-Star with the then-Indians, Angels and A’s before he wore blue and orange.
He debuted in 1997, played for 11 teams and did not make his way to Citi Field until 2014, when he already had pitched in 411 games.
Yet Bartolo Colon officially retired as a Met on Sunday, when a career that will be remembered both for an evolving excellence and for sheer entertainment was saluted.
“[My family] would have wanted me to retire there in Cleveland,” Colon said, through interpreter Alan Suriel, of a club he pitched from 1997-2002. “I also had good years [2004-07] in Anaheim. But once I was done there, this was the fan base that accepted me the most and that supported me the most.”
Mets fans loved and love “Big Sexy,” who was honored before the game at Citi Field against the Reds and threw a ceremonial, first-pitch strike to Brandon Nimmo.
Colon arrived on a two-year, $20 million deal — when that was considered a big deal for the Mets — in 2014, coming off an All-Star season as an accomplished, if presumably fading, starter.
Terry Collins remembered managing against the hard-throwing ace in the late-’90s, when Collins was leading the Angels and Colon was dominating with Cleveland.
Then Collins began managing the 40-year-old and saw the polar opposite.
“I’ve never seen anybody make the adjustment from being an absolute power guy to a finesse pitcher with great command of all the pitches he threw,” Collins said of Colon, who finished three seasons with the Mets with a 3.90 ERA and typically was the only reliable starter in a fragile rotation. “Nothing was ever in the middle of the plate.”
Fans will not most fondly recall Colon’s durability or his 2.08 ERA in 8 ⅔ postseason innings with the Mets.
When they think of Colon, maybe they will think of the 2016 swing that will forever make them smile.
“It was special hitting that home run in San Diego,” Colon said of his only homer in 326 plate appearances. “The only thing I could think about when I was running the bases was that those bases were getting further and further away.”
Or maybe they will remember the many swings that ended with a bit of a twirl and a helmet falling off Colon’s head.
As it turned out, an endearing quirk was partially plotted out.
“Sometimes my helmet would fall off, so I told the clubbie to make it a little bigger,” Colon said with a smile. “I knew that the [Mets] fans would get a good reaction out of it.”
Or maybe they will remember the nickname for the hefty righty.
“Noah Syndergaard was the one who gave me the nickname ‘Big Sexy,’” said Colon, who arrived at his locker one day to find a shirt with the moniker. “I look at it and I’m like … I think they’re calling me fat.
“And then Syndergaard came up to me and was like, ‘No, that’s a good thing.’ The nickname stuck, and I ended up liking it.”
Or maybe they will remember his behind-the-back flip to first base in 2015.
Or his love of the art, still occasionally popping up throwing bullpen sessions in social media videos.
Colon said he has not received coaching offers, “but maybe in a year or two,” he could see himself assisting young pitchers.
If he ever reenters the game, Mets fans would be the loudest whenever he comes by.
“It’s not that they’re the most important to me,” the 50-year-old said. “But they’re the ones that did give me a good amount of happiness.”
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