Colon still throwing strikes in his spring debut for Rangers
Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister remembers the rst time he saw Bartolo Colon pitch was in Class A ball in 1995.
“He was young and throwing a million it seemed like,” Banister said. “Hitters didn’t really enjoy getting into the batter’s box.”
Colon is no longer throwing a mid-90s fastball, but at age 44 he is still throwing and retiring hitters. He is in the Rangers camp on a minor league contract with a fastball that averaged 87.8 m.p.h. last season.
In his spring training debut ursday, Colon threw 23 of 32 pitches for strikes in two innings against the San Diego Padres. He struck out Chase Headley looking, walked none and yielded a solo homer by Wil Myers and a double by Luis Urias. His fastball worked mostly in the mid-80s range.
“I think Bartolo has really a good small window percentage, putting pitches where he wants to put them,” Banister said. “He was most e cient at small-window targets.”
Colon went a combined 7-14 with a 6.48 earned-run average in 28 starts last season with Atlanta and Minnesota. One victory was a complete game Aug. 4 against the Rangers. At age 44 years and 72 days, Colon was the oldest pitcher to throw a complete-game victory since Nolan Ryan, who was 45 years, 155 days, on July 4, 1992.
“He’s got deception, a great feel for a pitch and commanding the fastball and puts it where he wants to,” Banister said. “Day 1, he walks out here for live BP and young, fresh hitters walk away scratching their heads. ey don’t see it.”
Colon won the 2005 American League Cy Young Award with the Angels. If he makes the Rangers, it would be his eighth American League club and he would get a Us$1.75-million, one-year contract and the chance to earn $1.3 million in performance bonuses based on innings.
“It’s phenomenal, to want to do it at that age,” Banister said. “Hey, just to want to do it at that age and then be good enough to continue to do it, it’s incredible.”
Colon, who was the oldest player in the majors last year, has 240 victories, which is second only to Hall of Famer Juan Marichal’s 243 for a pitcher born in the Dominican Republic. He needs ve more to match Nicaraguan Dennis Martinez for most victories by a native of Latin American.
He acknowledged surpassing those two are a reason he is still pitching.
“I have personal goals I want to achieve and hopefully the team will allow me to reach those,” Colon said through a translator.