Kallet: Mets' Colon Is Human After All, On And Off The Field
By Brad Kallet
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Since joining the Mets in 2014, Bartolo Colon has developed into a legitimate folk hero.
The ridiculous at-bats where his helmets fall off; the 5-foot-11, 283-pound frame; the fact that, with not much of a fastball and no strong secondary pitches, he still manages to effectively get hitters out at the tender age of 42 (he'll turn 43 next week); the laid-back demeanor, where he looks like he's on a beach rather than a baseball diamond.
And then, of course, there was the home run. We might as well just call it "the home run," because you will never see a more improbable and unfathomable one. On May 7 in San Diego, the veteran launched a dinger over the left-field wall to become the oldest player in MLB history to hit his first long ball.
SNY's Gary Cohen, appropriately, called it one of the greatest moments in baseball history.
With that shot off James Shields, Colon cemented his legacy as a character like no other.
On a team with a flamboyant, slugging superstar (Yoenis Cespedes), a captain who will go down as one of the greatest players in franchise history (David Wright) and a quartet of young, fireballing aces (Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Steven Matz), Colon very well might be the most popular man on the team.
KEIDEL: Mets' Colon May Be The Best Value Signing In All Of Baseball
By all accounts he's also loved by his teammates, and has earned the nickname "Big Sexy," which has taken off like wildfire.
You never hear a bad word about the big man, never get any kind of glimpse -- positive or negative -- into his personal life.
That changed on Wednesday.
A day after the Mets took the series opener from the Nationals at Citi Field, the New York Post reported that a woman filed a lawsuit against the former American League Cy Young Award winner, accusing him of fathering her two children. According to the newspaper, Alexandra Santos claims that Colon, who has been married for 21 years, hasn't paid child support for the two children.
Every man and woman in this country is innocent until proven guilty. I'm not a lawyer, and I don't know the facts of the case. To attempt to break this down and pretend that I know what I'm talking about would be both irresponsible and disrespectful to the reader.
I do know, however, that it sounds bad. And at face value, if Santos' claims are true and Colon did, in fact, father two children with another woman and not pay child support, then he's not quite the all-world guy and lovable everyman as has been perceived.
REPORT: Bartolo Colon Files To Trademark 'Big Sexy' Nickname
In other off-the-mound news, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell, Colon is attempting to trademark "Big Sexy" and use it on T-shirts, pants, shorts and hats. This is a far different matter, of course. The three-time All-Star has absolutely every right in the world to milk his reputation for every penny and make as much money as he possibly can while he's still marketable.
It just seems so un-Bartolo-like, though, doesn't it?
Maybe the case with Santos will get settled, and nobody will ever talk about it again. Maybe it won't, and the tabloids will have a field day as more and more is exposed.
But it will be interesting to see how it unfolds in the coming months. It's a fascinating sociological case study. If it is revealed that Colon is far less honorable than we believed him to be -- and I'm not saying that's the case -- will he still be loved? Will he still be treated like royalty at Citi Field? Considering he didn't hurt anyone physically or say something so vile that it would offend half the city -- there's only so much you can get away with -- fans might choose to put this little news in the rearview mirror and cheer as loudly as they've ever cheered.
I remain a Bartolo Colon fan, and I'm of the opinion that, despite Wednesday's bombshell report, 99 percent of his fans still adore him. But all of a sudden, there's a small footnote in his legend.
Hours after the Post broke the story, Colon took the mound to face the rival Nationals.
With a chance to put the Mets in first place in the NL East, Colon labored like we've rarely seen. Prior to the start, he hadn't walked back-to-back hitters since 2007. He did that twice on Wednesday. His command, which is usually so excellent, was just not there. The right-hander surrendered three earned runs and five hits and walked five (and also hit a batter) over 4 2/3 innings, and it took him 107 pitches to get 14 outs.
Colon hadn't walked five batters in a game since April 26, 2005.
On SNY's broadcast of the game, Cohen wondered if the stories in the tabloids were in the pitcher's head, affecting his game. Ron Darling, who knows a thing or two about being a professional athlete -- and more specifically, a major league pitcher -- assured the play-by-play man that the outside controversy was unquestionably playing a role in the veteran right-hander's lackluster effort.
We're all human. And as much as you might not have wanted to believe it, yep -- Bartolo Colon is human, too.
Brad Kallet is the managing editor of TENNIS.com and a frequent contributor to WFAN.com. Follow him on Twitter @brad_kallet
